Shadows of the Past
by AWluvvbug
Summary: *Chap.9 I'm done-I'm done-I'm done!!* What would happen if Max didn't remember anything about Manticore and grew up as a normal kid in a normal family? But then one day her past comes back to find her. Obviously an AU - don't forget to review! lotta luv!
1. Cry for help

Shadows of the Past 

Shadows of the Past 

Chapter 1: Cry for Help 

~Dark Angel is not mine, never was and never will be. So if you planed on suing me I'm sorry I had to disappoint you. 

~PG-13 I guess. It's not really necessary yet but who knows what I'll end up doing? 

~PLEASE review. I'm not sure if I'm gonna continue with this story yet, but if you like it I will. :oD 

~ What would happen if Max repressed all her memories of Manticore after the escape, and she found a home with a family and grew up as a normal kid? But then one day her past catches up with her? This is my take on the situation: 

Dear Eyes Only, 

I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing by writing you, but I don't know who else to turn to. I think I'm in trouble and I need your help. 

I was 'adopted' by the Guevara's in 2009 not long after the pulse. All that I remember is suddenly having a home. My 'parents' took on the huge task of taking in a child that they found on the streets of Northern California with an unknown past and odd medical problems into their home and raising her as their own. For that I am eternally grateful, but there are so many unanswered questions. I didn't remember anything about who I was, where I came from. Nothing, not even my birthday. 

Because of the Pulse there was never an official adoption, they just brought me into their family and called me their daughter and that's how it stayed. I became Maxine Guevara. I have an older brother, Noah, whom I trust more than anyone. He's actually the one who told me to come to you for help. But to do that you'll need to know some things about me. 

Growing up I was always different than the other kids. I was smarter than the class 'genius', faster than the track team and stronger than the jocks. I could jump higher than the basketball players, and I could see in the dark better than anyone I knew, and I never got sick - except for random unexplained seizures that I still get today. I was constantly questioned about why I was so weird, but the mystery of my tattoo became a favorite subject among my classmates. Why would a ten year old have a barcode tattooed on her neck? The possibilities were endless. 

I hated the fact that I couldn't remember anything from before the pulse. I had so many questions that I had the answers to only I couldn't remember them. My Mom always told me the reason that I don't remember anything from my early childhood is because of a traumatic event or something. And I would have been perfectly happy with that explanation if I hadn't received that phone call I did last week. 

Some guy called saying that he knew who and what I was, and that he would turn me in of I didn't pay him $75,000 upon our meeting at a Seattle port next month. The way he acting made me really nervous, whispering all the time and talking about protocol and the threat of turning me in to some unknown authorities and Manticore. It scares me to think that there's someone out there who knows more about me and my past than I do. That's where you come in. 

I need your help finding out who or what I am Eyes Only, so I can be ready for this guy when I meet up with him. I don't want any surprises and I want to shut him down ASAP. I know that this isn't your usual thing, but I was hoping you would make an exception this time. If you don't help me, I don't want to think about what may happen. I could be putting my family at risk, and that's the last thing I want. Their safety comes before mine. I am really scared and I don't like it. I've never been in a position like this before. I have never been this scared because I've never had a reason to be. I could always handle anything that came my way. But this time I am a sitting duck. 

Eyes Only, please, I really need your help right now. 

Sincerely, 

Max Guevara 

*** 

Logan Cale sat in front of his computer as he finished reading the young girls desperate plea for help. Logan had been a journalist since college and he always had a hard time resisting a good mystery. And if what Max Guevara said in her letter is true this would be the best mystery he had seen in years. Then again it could always been some cheap tabloid concocting a tragic story in hopes of revealing Eyes Only's true identity. It wouldn't be the first time. But there was something about this girls story that made Logan believe her. 

"Hey Bling?" Logan called hearing his friend banging around in the kitchen. 

"Yeah?" Bling answered emerging from kitchen with a sandwich in hand. 

"Where'd you get this?" he asked holding up the letter in question. 

"I found it in the contact room. Why?" Bling asked sitting down in a nearby chair. 

_\\Obviously, Cale. Everything that comes for Eyes Only Bling gets from the contact room.// _

"Logan, what's the big deal about a letter? You get them all the time. How is this one different?" Bling said breaking into his bosses thoughts. 

"I don't know. This girl sounds really scared. I can't out my finger on it, but there's something...really wrong here." Logan tapped the letter on his desk his curiosity obviously peeked. 

"Did she include a picture or something? You usually don't get worked up so quickly about total strangers unless they're female." Bling said with a chuckle. 

"Bling I don't use Eyes Only as a dating service. Not anymore." he smiled. 

The last time that Logan had gotten involved with one of Eyes Only's clients she turned out to be a drunk and almost wiped out his bank account with her gambling debts. After that Logan had vowed to stay away from any and all clientele. 

"Was there a number left so Eyes Only could contact her?" 

"Nope. Looks like you've got some extra work to do." Bling paused as he scanned through the letter. 

"She could just be over reacting about a prank call you know. Or letting her imagination get the best of her." 

Handing the letter back to Logan, Bling shook his head and smiled knowing his friend too well. 

\\There are so many reasons why he's gonna take this case. One being the female factor - even if he may not act on it, he can always appreciate a 'work of art'. But even more than that, Logan can never resist a mystery like this one. Especially when the government is involved.// 

"You gonna get some more details on this chick?" Bling called from the hall as he picked up his leather jacket. 

"Who said I'm taking this one?" Logan said reading Max's letter again. 

"You'll take this one." Bling's voice echoed through the room. 

"I'll see you tomorrow Logan!" The front door slammed shut before Logan could respond. 

"So what if I do take this one? There's nothing wrong with that. There could be a legitimate story here. This girl could really be in danger. What kind of journalist would I be if I didn't at least check it out?" Logan said to himself as he ran in a search for Max Guevara on his computer. 

*** 

The phone rang in the living room of the Guevara's middle class apartment early that evening. Max and Noah were lounging comfortably on the sofa watching old TV movies. Reaching over his sister Noah grabbed the phone and answering with his attention still on the movie. 

"Hello?" 

"Yes, Noah? Is Max there?" Logan said casually. 

"How'd you know my name?" Noah asked, his attention ripped away from the television. The worried tone in his voice caught Max's attention, causing her to tense immediately. 

"I'm a friend of Eyes Only. I need to talk to Max. Is she there?" 

"It's one of Eyes Only's guys. He wants to talk to you." Noah whispered to his sister after covering the mouthpiece on the phone. 

"Gimme the phone." Max whispered back. 

"Don't tell him.." 

"Hello?" Logan called uncertain if anyone was still on the line. 

"I know Noah. I won't" Max said gently, taking the phone from her brother's hand. 

"This is Max." 

"Max, hi. I need to get some information from you for Eyes Only." 

"Look I don't want to be a jerk, but I won't tell you anything over the phone. And I won't tell some lackey either, no offence." Max said leaving little room for an argument. 

"None taken. But how do you expect any help form Eyes Only without any additional information so he can get any information pertinent to your situation." Logan smiled at the girls spunk. 

"Oh I know that he needs more info than what I already gave him, but I want to talk to Eyes Only directly - face to face." Max said matter of factly. 

"That's just not possible." Logan was slightly shaken by Max's demand but he didn't let his voice show it. No one had ever said that and actually expected for it to happen. Until now. 

"It has to be. My life depends on it." she responded with a desperate tone in her voice. Noah gave her hand a gentle squeeze to reassure her. 

"I'm sorry Max but for his own safety, Eyes Only never reveals his identity." Logan said feeling torn. He wanted to help Max, but was it worth risking his life? 

"Then I'm sorry too. Thanks for trying to help. I appreciate the thought." Max said ready to hang up feeling like she was just handed a death sentence, but the voice on the other end stopped her. 

"Max!" Logan called hoping that he had got her attention, before she hung up. 

"Yeah." Max said defeated. 

"The Space Needle, 12 tonight. Pack for at least a week." Logan said abruptly before he could change his mind, leaving Max with a stunned smile on her face as she slowly hung up the phone. 

"What happened? Maxie? What'd he say?" Noah fired questions at his sister while he followed her to her room. 

"I'm going to the Space Needle tonight, and from there I'm going to Eyes Only's." Max stopped turning to face the tall blonde following her. 

"He's gonna help me! Noah he's gonna help me!" she squealed throwing herself into her brother's arms. 

"Well let's get you packed and figure out what we're telling Mom and Dad" he said leading Max into her room shutting the door behind them. 

*** 

Max stood waiting at the base of the Seattle Space Needle with her bag slung over her shoulder. It was the middle of November and it wasn't exactly warm out, but Max stood unaffected by the cold wind. The cold never did bother her. 

"Come on. Where are you?" Max was loosing her few patience quickly. Noah wanted to stay with her until her ride showed, but Max refused. 

**"I need to do this part alone Noah. I don't want you to get hurt because of me. But thanks for the offer." Max kissed her brother's cheek. 

"Be careful little sister. I love you." He said giving her a hug. 

"You know I always am." Max said playfully. "I Love you too." ** 

"Max?" A man called from the shadows starting Max out of her thoughts. 

"Maybe. Who are you?" She said settling into a fighting stance. 

"Bling." The man said stepping into the pale moonlight. 

"Don't worry, I'm a friend of Eyes Only." He said slightly raising his hands to show he wasn't armed or a threat. 

"Eyes Only has a lot of friends these days. You're not the guy I talked to on the phone." Max said still suspicious. 

"No I'm not. But I was there when Eyes Only got your letter. So you want to go see him or not?" Bling spat. 

"How do I know you really work for him? How do I know you're not one of the bad guys?" Max said weakly. The sudden change in mood shocked Bling but it only proved how desperate and scared this girl really was. 

"Unfortunately you don't. You're just going to have to trust me." Bling said taking Max's bag from her. 

"Let's go see Eyes Only." Max said quietly. 

"Okay, but first you need to know some things. You can never tell anyone who Eyes Only is or where he is. If you ever give away anything that threatens Eyes Only and his true identity he can and will make you disappear without a trace. Are you sure you can do this? Why he trusts you this much I don't know. And personally I don't think it's very smart." Bling said flatly. 

"Yeah. I can understand the need for secrets. It looks like you're just gonna have to trust me too." Max said looking Bling dead in the eye. 

"Alright. The car's this way." Bling said nodding. 

Max took a deep breath, bracing herself for future events before following Bling to the car. 


	2. So You're Eyes Only

Shadows of the Past

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 2: So You're Eyes Only

Hey guys I know this is short and it took me a while to get this up, but more is on its way. Because of college my updates may not be as frequent but they will happen. I promise! Guys remember to review so I know if you like it. And if you think it sucks tell me too, but try not to make me cry. :oD~Amanda

DA isn't mine, except for in my dreams and delusions.

Max followed silently behind Bling as he walked towards the elevator in the Fogel Towers lobby.

"Don't worry," Bling said noticing Max's nervousness.

"He's a good guy, all he wants to do is help. Your case really caught his attention." He said walking through the opened doors.

"What caught his attention? The freakish abilities, amnesia, mysterious tattoo, a possible government conspiracy or the threat?" Max said harshly while she entered the elevator behind Bling.

"All of the above actually."

"Where to?"She asked with her finger hovering over the floor panel.

"Pent house." He replied flatly.

"Oh goodie a rich boy." Max said matching his apathetic tone. Her family was far from poor, but Max's experience with rich guys had been anything but pleasant. Their arrogant, self-righteous, demanding, overbearing, self-absorbed and indulgent attitudes just pissed her off. And now one of those very men held her life in his hands. 

"Well I guess there's no turning back now." Max muttered watching the doors open to reveal the pent house door.

"Remember, his identity-" Bling began.

"Needs to be protected at all costs. If I compromise his safety I die, blah blah woof woof." Max finished, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah." Bling said shaking his head. He liked Max, really he did. He just didn't trust her. Logan was one of his best friends and he had a lot of people after him. How could he tell if this was a trap or not? 

"Ready?" Bling asked before unlocking the door.

"As I'll ever be." Max answered adjusting the strap on her shoulder.

"Okay." Bling swung open the door to the pent house and walked in.

"Logan, we're back." He called closing the door behind Max. 

"Hey." Logan said leaning over on the counter in the kitchen. "Come on in." He said as his head disappeared once again behind the wall. Max slowly walked towards the kitchen, setting down her bag on the way.

_\\ Come on Max. You can do this. You have to do this. He's not a super-hero or anything; he's just a normal guy. Just remember to breathe. //_

"You must be Max." Logan said with an out stretched had when she had entered the kitchen.

"Yeah. Max Guevara. Nice to meet you." She said cautiously, as she noticed his eyes do a quick sweep of her body.

"Logan Cale." He said as he shook her hand. Max had to force herself not to do the same sweep of Logan's body. He was defiantly easy on the eyes. 

"Please sit." Logan said nodding towards a chair nearby. "Can I get you anything?" He asked, pouring a glass of water for himself. 

"No, I'm fine." 

"Bling?" 

"Naw, I'm heading home." Bling said turning back doors the door. 

"Alright. Thanks a lot for getting Max. I'll see you later." 

"Yeah. Later!" 

"Bye Bling. Thank you!" Max called as he reached for the doorknob. Bling turned to look over his shoulder at Max.

"No problem. Good luck." Bling said with a slight smile before walking out the door.

"Sure you don't want anything?" Logan asked, sitting down across the counter from Max.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Max said with a slight grin. 

"So, you said that you needed my help." Logan said leaning forward on the counter to look Max in the eye.

"So you're the man behind Eyes Only?" Max asked with a slight grin. 

"Yeah that's me. The mysterious cyber journalist cable hacker." He said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"As for the help- yeah I need it." She said with a sigh

"Alright. You said in you letter that someone threatened to turn you in to a government faction unless you coughed up 75 large?"

"Basically. But if I can find out what this guys thinks he knows about me, then I've got the upper hand in the situation and I can shut the psycho down. I really need to find out everything I don't remember about my childhood." 

"Okay. Come with me." Logan stood as he spoke to walk around the counter. Nodding in the direction of his office Logan followed behind Max. To silently guide her in the right direction, Logan put his hand on the small of Max's back gently pushing her towards the unopened door. Max slightly jumped at Logan's unexpected touch. It was almost as if some electric spark passed through them and they both felt it. Logan did his best to ignore it thinking that it was just his hormones talking again, while Max dismissed it as nerves. Opening the door Logan walked into the room and sat down in front of his computer.

"I ran a search on your name just to see what I would come up with. I got the usual – police record; which is spotless, high school transcript; valedictorian- impressive, and various family information." Logan said pulling up each file as he mentioned it on the screen. 

"But," Logan said turning around in his chair to face Max who was leaning on a file cabinet behind him, "all that begins in the fall of '09, when you began 5th grade. Before that, there's nothing. It's as if you never existed until then."

"Sounds familiar." Max quipped. 

"Yeah," Logan smiled as he turned back around, "So, I ran a search in the missing children's national database for anyone who's disappearance' matched the time of your 'appearance'. I came up with about 75 possible matches, but because I didn't have a description it's a long shot.All I knew was that you're about 19 now, which would make you 8 at the time of your disappearance, and that you're female.

"Okay. Do you want me to look through them and see if any of them are me?" Max offered. "You know weed out the rejects."

"Yeah, but let me narrow down the search first." Logan turned around once again to study Max trying to pick out any characteristics that wouldn't change with time. Shifting uncomfortably under Logan's intense gaze, Max's eyes slowly found his.

\\My God, his eyes are incredible. I never really noticed before how blue they are. They're crystal clear like I always imagined the ocean used to be. You could drown if you weren't careful. Stop it Max! You're here on business, not some blind date.//

\\ God she's beautiful. Her eyes are like huge dark pools of…forever. They reveal so much about her, her feelings and weaknesses, but at the same time show her strength. She's incredible she's…client. Don't even think about it. Remember what happened last time? //

"So," Logan began turning back to the screen quickly, "is there anything about you that make you stand out in the mix, that you can remember?" He asked as he typed in a description of her hair and eye color, ethnicity, ect.

"Ummm…" Max thought still shaken by the 'moment' she had just had with Logan. "I had this ridiculous hair cut when my parents found me." She said with a laugh.

"What did it look like?" Logan asked glancing over his shoulder to see Max moving to the other side of his desk. 

"It was really short – like crew cut or something. It was awful trying to grow that sucker out into something more normal." Max shook her head remembering the hell she went through until her hair had gotten long enough to weigh down the 'puff ball'.

"Nothing." Logan said when the new search came up empty. "Not that I'm surprised, nothing is ever that easy." Logan's train of thought was interrupted by a long yawn. 

"Oh, sorry." He said covering his mouth. Max simply dismissed it with a wave.

"Hey Max? I'm exhausted. Would you mind if we picked this up in the morning with Manticore?" Logan asked feeling a little guilty.

"No, not at all. It is almost 2am Logan." Max smiled as she hopped down of the desk.

"Thanks. Here let me show you your room." 

Max followed behind Logan taking in her surroundings. This was going to be her home for probably the next few weeks, so she better get used to it. As they passed the living room Max went to pick her bag up from where she had left it.

"Hey, I've got that." Logan said reaching for her bag.

"I can handle it really." Max said shyly. 

"Nope, I've got it." Logan insisted taking the bag from her hands.

"Okay." Max conceded, hiding a smile.

"What do you have in here?" Logan asked with a laugh, but Max knew that he was having a hard time.

"Only a dead body or two." She joked.

"Is that all?" Logan laughed to himself as he opened the guest room door down the hall. 

"Well here it is, your room. I hope it's up to your standards."

"I'd say so." Max said shocked that this room was his guest room. It was huge, and beautifully decorated. She had seen pictures of places like this from before the pulse, but never dreamed that some one's home could still be this elegant.But his entire house was like that.

"Feel free to change it around if you want." He said rolling his shoulder after putting down Max's bag. "And help yourself to anything, make yourself at home." He said leaning on the doorframe.

"My room is down the hall from my office if you need anything alright."

"Okay, thanks." She said stuffing her hands in her pockets.

"Well, goodnight Max." Logan said hesitating at the door before turning away.

"Uhh, Logan?" Max called weakly.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind if I used your computer. I promised Noah that I would e-mail him so he knows I'm alright."

Logan was torn by the question. He knew that she was close with her brother but what if she was working for one of his many enemies? He hardly knew Max, how did he know if she could be trusted.

"I'll just send it and go. I won't touch a thing. I promise." Max said seeing his struggle.

"Yeah sure. Go ahead. See you in the morning." Logan smiled.

"Thanks again Logan, for everything." Max said.

"Good night." Logan smiled to himself as he walked back to his room. He had helped a lot of people during his time as Eyes Only, but he had never seen anyone as grateful as Max. When she said thank you, she actually meant it. With other people they said it as a common courtesy, but Max was different.

A few minutes later Max walked barefoot to Logan's office in her flannel pants and tank top. Her eyes adjusted to the dark quickly, so she could see just as well as during the day. When she sat down in the chair a wave of Logan's scent hit her face. 

Noah,

Hey big bro! I wanted to let you know I was okay. This guy is actually pretty nice. It looks like I'm gonna be here for a few weeks, so you're gonna have to deal with Mom and Dad for a little longer. But, I promise I'm okay Noah, I swear. And you know me; if I were I would either get out or throw some elbows. I love you Noah, take care of your self. If I need anything from home or if I just want to talk I'll call you, okay.I miss you Noah.

Love,

Maxie

Max sat back and looked at the screen. Slowly reaching forward to click the send button a tear slid down her cheek. She could handle the whole ordeal of her past and the threats but she hated being away from her brother. Noah was her best friend in the world, and having to keep secrets form him was torture.

"Just go to bed." Max sighed to herself. So what if she wasn't tired, she never was. But Max had the feeling that she was going to need all the rest she could get.


	3. The Key

Shadows of the Past

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 3: The Key

~ I'm sorry that it took me so long to update, but it's been crazy here. I was almost done then Sept. rolled around and you know the rest…Anywho, read and review, let me know what you think of this crazy little project I've got goin' on.

~I'm sick and tired of the usual disclaimer so I'm just doing this: If they really were mine would I be writing fan fiction?

~PG13ish

As Max opened the guest room door early the next morning, she was hit by the smell of pancakes and bacon. _\For a guy who was exhausted he didn't sleep very long. //_

Max paused at in the den to watch Logan prepare breakfast with a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"You didn't have to do all this." Max said sitting down on a stool. Startled by the unexpected company Logan jumped, splattering grease on his shirt."Ah, oh, Damn!" He yelped when the splatters hit him. "Max, I didn't hear you come in." He said spinning around.

"Sorry, I do that a lot." Max apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Logan put the finished bacon on a plate and set it on the counter. "You're up early." He said turning around to pickup a plate of pancakes

"I don't sleep much." Max took advantage of Logan's back being turned and stool a piece of bacon from the plate.

"That would make two of us." He said over his shoulder as he walked to the table where he put down the pancakes. "And I saw that." 

"What?" Max said feigning innocence. Logan simply smiled.

"Do you take syrup on your pancakes?" Logan asked as he passed by Max to get the butter.

"No. It just gets in the way of the butter." Max said as she reached for another piece of bacon. 

"No you don't." Logan said pulling the plate away from her out stretched fingers with a chuckle.

"Hey." She whined

"Come, sit." Logan said putting the bacon on table beside the plate of pancakes.

"Do you have any O.J.?" Max asked opening the refrigerator. 

"Yeah, top shelf." Logan called as he set two places on the table. He put two pancakes on each of their plates as well as two pieces of bacon on his plate and four on Max's.

"Want any?" 

"Please."

"Good, cause I already poured you some." Max said walking in with two large glasses of juice.

"Thanks." Logan said taking one glass from her. Logan watched the smile form on Max's face when she noticed the extra bacon he had given her. As she stuffed a piece in her mouth her eyes met his with a silent thank you.

"Logan that was soooo good!" Max said bringing him the last few dishes from their breakfast.

"It was only pancakes and bacon." He laughed while rinsing a glass.

"I can't make them. My cooking abilities range from turning on a burner to boiling water." Max laughed as she picked up a dishtowel and began to dry.

"You don't have to do that." Logan said finishing the last couple of dishes in the sink.

"It's the least I can do."

"Really Max, you don't have to." He said turning to face her.

"Logan, you cooked for me, you're helping me with a hopeless situation, you're trusting me with your biggest secret, your letting me stay here for as long as I need to deal with this thing. I think I can handle drying a few dishes. Max said trying to keep the seriousness out of her voice, but failed miserably. Up to this point Max had never truly admitted how hopeless her situation was. The realization brought tears to Max's eyes, against her will. 

"Max," Logan began, placing his hand on the side of her face, "Your situation is hardly hopeless." As Max lifted her deep brown eyes to meet his piercing blue a tear spilled over on to her cheek.

"You think?"

"I know." Logan whipped the tear with the pad of his thumb, as a small smile formed at the corners of her mouth.

"Thanks." Max had a hard time pulling her eyes away from Logan's but she did, eventually. 

"Just let me change my shirt – because someone caused some 'spillage' – and we'll get started on finding your past. Okay?" 

"Yeah, but that 'spillage' was on you 100%." She added walking off towards Logan's office.

Max and Logan had been wracking their brains trying to find something that could help in their search, but had found nothing and both of them were on edge.

"I don't know Logan! I don't remember my childhood, so how can I give you anything to go on?" She shouted. 

"Well then what exactly do you want me to do? I can't just pull this out of tin air! I need to start somewhere."Logan yelled back.

"We have been starting for the past 6 hours!" Max yelled throwing her hands in the air. "I need something to drink." Max sighed waking out of the room. Logan watched as Max pulled her hair into a ponytail on her way to the kitchen. 

"Max!" Logan called as an idea struck him. _\\ I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner. //_

"What?" Max said completely exasperated, turning around to look at him.

"I have an idea." 

"So?" She said sidestepping towards the fridge.

"I need your help."

"Fine." Max stalked back in to the room and sat back on the desk where she was sitting before. 

"Can I see your tattoo?"Max eyed Logan oddly as she slowly turned so her tattoo was visible. 

"It is a barcode." Logan said triumphantly.

"Yeah?" Max said with an attitude.

"Barcodes were used for identification and other similar functions before the pulse and still are today in some places." Logan said as he dug through a drawer.

"You think," Max ventured hoping that Logan would finish her thought.

"Your barcode has some information stored on it. Yeah, I think it might. Here it is." He said pulling out a scanning gun and hooking it up to his computer. 

"And you're going to use that?" Max said cynically pointing at the gun.

"Yeah." 

"Okay…" Max stood and moved her ponytail out of the way so nothing would be in the way of the scan. "Wait. Where did you get that thing?" She said turning to face Logan. 

"I have a friend that used to work in a department store and he took it with him after the pulse for a book end." Logan said shaking his head slightly in amusement. Max turned back around moving her hair out of the way exposing her barcode. Logan put the gun up to her neck and pulled the trigger to activate the scan.

"Alright, let's see what we get." Logan said a second later. Nodding, Max stood to get a better view and watched the computer screen barely breathing. Suddenly a black and white military photo of a small child filled the screen with a red stamp across it that said 'Top Secret'.

"Logan, that's me." Max breathed as tears formed in her eyes. 

"Are you sure Max?" He asked in shock and turned to look at her.

"Yeah. That's me." Max said as she sat down on the edge of the desk trying to stop the room from spinning. 

"You okay?" Logan asked putting a hand on Max's to get her attention. All she could do to answer was nod.

"We have to get in there."She told Logan with desperation in her eyes. Logan slowly began typing. A few minutes later the picture of Max was replaced by numerous reports and file headings.

"Where do you want to start?" Logan asked.

"The beginning." Max said pointing to a file called 'Project Manticore'.

Leaning up against the wall Max sat on the floor reading and re-reading the files on Manticore Logan had printed hours earlier. Logan was doing the same in his chair, reading the files slowly so he could fully comprehend what he was reading. Hearing a long shaky sigh Logan glanced over the papers he held to look at Max. 

Max's eyes darted across the pages. Words like **killing machine, bioengineered_, _Chimera, bar code, seizures, and '09 escape_. _**Tears sprung to her eyes, blurring her vision so badly she could no longer make out the words that were burned into her memory. She wasn't sure what to think. And she wasn't sure how she felt. Was she mad, hurt, scared, disgusted? Max honestly had no clue what she was feeling because at the moment she was numb_._

_\\ How can I be one of these kids? I don't remember any of this. Well, can you blame yourself? What am I going to do? How can I look at myself in the mirror ever again? //_

"Max, are you okay?" Logan asked softly. Max sat unresponsive, never taking her eyes off the paper. Logan moved out of his chair and kneeled down beside Max.

"Max?" He asked again kneeling down next to her.

"What do you think?" Max hissed, her eyes containing the same venom her voice did.

"I think you need a break." Logan said gently, reaching for her. "Come on, let's get something to eat." 

"No. I want to read the rest of the files." She said stubbornly, pushing Logan's hand away.

"You've read all of them at least twice. Stop torturing yourself." Logan said softly feeling completely helpless. There was nothing in the world that he hated more than feeling helpless.

"Stop torturing myself? And how exactly do you think I should do that?" Max jumped to her feet angrily and began pacing around the room.

"I don't know Max. Just calm down." Logan said with his voice still in a soothing tone. 

"Calm down. Calm down? You want me to calm down?" Max shouted, stopping in her tracks to look at Logan. 

"Everything I have ever known is a lie! My name probably isn't even my name! It's X5-452. Or better yet, 332960073452. That's my ID number isn't it?" 

"I am a freaking test tube baby Logan!" Max shouted throwing the files in her hand at Logan, only missing because he ducked. 

"How the hell do you expect me to calm down? I'm not even human. I'm a…. a…. I'm a freak." Max choked out through sobs.

"Max." 

"I wish I never came here. I wish I never wanted to find my past. I wish I never got that stupid phone call. I was perfectly happy being in the dark about who I really was, but I had to screw it all up didn't I? " She said losing her battle for control.

"Max," Logan stood slowly and reached for her hand."Come on, let's take a break." 

Slowly Max began to stretch out her hand towards Logan's, but she stopped seeing the barley visible shaking of her hand. \\ Oh God, not now. Please, not now.// 

"No. I just need a drink." Max said turning on her heel and walking to the kitchen hoping all she needed was some fresh air. Logan flopped back down in his chair with a sigh_. \\ Way to go Cale. //_

_\\ Maybe it's just adrenaline. Yeah, it's just adrenaline.//_ In mid-step Max lost her balance and had to grab onto the edge of the counter for support. _\\ Ok, so I was wrong.//_

"Hey," He called seeing her stumble. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Max said dismissing the tremor with a wave of her hand as she took the last few steps to the cupboard. Normally Logan would have gone back to his work the second her got a response, but for some reason he couldn't take his eyes off of Max. It was more than her stunning beauty, her energy, her 'spit fire' nature, he wasn't quite sure what it was but he did know something was wrong. 

Standing up on her tiptoes, Max reached for a large glass on the top shelf. But before she got to one a strong wave of tremors swept through her body, throwing off her balance and sending her crashing to the ground shaking violently.

"Max!" Logan shouted shooting out of his chair and running towards the seizing form on the floor. He dropped down on his knees beside Max and looked for any obvious injuries. There were none as far as he could tell.

"Max, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Logan asked franticly while gently brushing Max's hair out of her face, desperate to see her eyes. If her could just see her eyes everything would be okay.

"Logan…" Max said looking up at Logan's concerned face through tear filled eyes. 

"Shhh. It's ok. Shhhh" Logan whispered as he tried to hold Max still until the current wave ran its course. 

"Logan…milk…" she breathed just as another long and painful wave of tremors hit. \_\ I wish Noah was here. //_ Logan who was obviously confused by her request just nodded in response. When the wave of tremors once again receded Logan slowing rose to his feet to get a glass of milk. Max had pushed herself up to a sitting position and was leaning against the wall for support. Logan sat down next to her, handing over the glass to Max. Even thought the seizures had died down for the time being Max was still incredibly weak and shaking a great deal. Taking the glass with both hands Max slowly tried to bring it to her lips, but she couldn't because of the remnants of the seizure.

"Logan I can't…" Max began but couldn't seem to get the rest out because of embarrassment. Gently taking the glass from Max, Logan held it up to her lips so she could drink.

"Thanks." Max said quietly a few minutes later. The worst of the seizure was over now but tremors remained. 

"Max, are you okay?" Logan asked putting an around her shoulders. Almost instinctively Max leaned in and rested her clouded head on his shoulder.

"I will be." She murmured.

"Is there anything I can do?" Logan asked with the side of his face on Max's head. 

"Help me nail the heartless monsters who did this to me." Logan simply nodded his head in agreement. He still couldn't believe what they had found today. The truth of Max's past was worse than anything he could have imagined. Logan easily picked up Max, carried her to her room and placed her on the bed, quietly tucking her in. As he turned to leave thinking that she had already fallen asleep, Max's hand found his.

"Don't leave me Logan. Please." Max pleaded._\\ What is it about her? I don't think that I could refuse her anything sometimes. //_ Logan slipped his hand out of Max's grasp and moved the overstuffed chair in the corner next to the nightstand. When he sat Max took his hand once again.

"Thank you." 

"Try and get some sleep Max." Logan said with a slight smile. Adjusting the blankets one more time Logan placed a feather soft kiss on Ma's forehead.

"Good night Max." 

Logan sat watching Max sleep while hundreds thoughts raced through his head; each one centered on Max. _\\ Don't ever do that to me again. I've never been that worried about someone in my life. I've only know you for a day but for some reason you mean a lot to me. It makes me sick knowing what happened to you and we don't even know the half of it. I just met you Max, there is no way that I'm going to let you be taken away from me. I'm not going to lose you Max. I'm not. //_

***

Max woke a few hours later with a start. It took a moment for her to remember where she was, but when she picked up on Logan's scent the past 24 hours came back to her.

_\\ Oh God, it did happen. Yeah, that's great Max, you're here for a day and you have one of your worst seizures to date. He probably thinks you're a freak. But why should I care what he thinks? He's just an arrogant rich boy. Isn't he? I defiantly need to call Noah; he can help me sort this out. Anyway, I promised that I'd let him know what we found. He deserves to know. //_ Max looked over to see Logan asleep in the chair with the Manticore files on his lap and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Max slipped from under the sheets without a sound and picked up the blanket at the foot of her bed. After taking the files off of his lap Max gently covered Logan with the blanket. _\\ He looks so cute. Maybe we could have been something if I wasn't what I am. But I didn't come here for that, so it doesn't matter. // _

"Thank you Logan, for everything." Max whispered gently placing a kiss on his cheek. \\ A girl can dream can't she? // Max turned off the lamp and climbed back into bed still exhausted from earlier. 

_\\ You're welcome Max. //_

_ _

_ _

~ There you go! I just have one last thing to say: In light of what happened on the 11th, I thought that I should remind you to tell those you love that you love them, and don't let the sun go down on your anger. 

~I love all of you-especially those who review.:~}

~ And one more thing, I'm not sure I like how this chapter turned out, so it is subject to change. But I promise there will be no massive changes if any.


	4. Facing Reality

Shadows of the Past

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 4: Facing Reality

~Don't own 'em, I just play around with their crazy little lives.

~PG-13ish

~Once again I'm really sorry for how long it's taken me to update but a friend of mine from High School just died so you can imagine I've been a little side tracked. But here you go, chapter 4.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Max woke up again late the next evening and sluggishly climbed into the shower, hoping that the hot water would clear her head. _Oh God, that was a bad one_. Max thought still feeling the after effects of her seizures. _I just hope that was it for a while. I don't know if I can take another one like that_.

***

Logan was sitting in a chair staring out into nowhere when he heard the shower come on._She's up and around. That's a good thing. I was starting to get really worried. I haven't seen anything like that since….Mom. And that is one incident I would rather not relive._Logan shook his head to clear it of the disturbing memories. _I just hope that was it for a very, very long time_. He sighed, running a hand through his already messy hair. _I don't know if I can take another night like that_. With that thought Logan reverted back to the position he had been in for the past 10 hours; elbows on his knees, head in his hands, and his eyes closed in a silent prayer, begging for Max to be all right.

***

A few minutes later, Max slowly walked out of her room, staying close to the wall incase she needed it's support. Catching the movement out of the corner, Logan stood to help Max the last few feet to the sofa and gently sat her down.

"How you feeling?" Logan asked sitting back down in his chair with concern written all over his face.

"Better. Weak, but better. It's been a long time since I've been this wiped afterwards. I'm not used to it anymore." Max ran a hand through her wet hair. "I don't like it." she with a slight smile on her lips.

"Neither do I. You scared the hell outta me last night. I thought I was going to lose you." He said intently, never letting his eyes leave hers.

"Yeah," Max sighed her eyes dropping to the floor, "I'm really sorry about that. If had had more of a warning I could have done something…I can only imagine what was going through your head. I mean I've only been here for a few days and…"

"Max, it's ok. It's not as if you can control when the seizures will hit." 

"But, you didn't have to stay with me all night like you did.Logan, you don't know what that means to me. Noah is the only one who ever stayed with me like that." Max said through increasingly glassy eyes.

"What else could I do? You were scared Max. And since Noah couldn't be here I thought I should fill in. Plus, I didn't want to leave you." 

"You mentioned him in your sleep" he added seeing Max's quizzical expression.

"Oh." 

"You miss him don't you?" Logan asked leaning forward on his knees. 

"Yeah. He's the only one I have to talk to about all of this." Max said sadly blinking back tears.

"Have left?"

"Yeah…" Max pulled her legs up to chest and hugged her knees. Logan sat by and waited quietly for her to continue.

"I didn't have many friends in school-for obvious reasons." Max chuckled bitterly. "Kids are cruel, it's a fact of life in school. Let me tell you, all the geeks and fat kids loved me 'cause I got all the bullies and jerks off their back. I was a bigger target and more fun. Noah did his best to protect me from all the jokes, pranks, looks and rumors but he could only do so much. I gave up a long time ago on caring about what people thought of me or even tried to do. But it always bothered Noah. I look nothing like my parents so it was obvious that I was adopted. One day this group of guys wouldn't leave me alone and I was about ready to kick 'em. There were about 8 of them and they had me pinned against my locker. I knew that I could take them if I had to, but I didn't want any unnecessary attention to myself. I was starting to run out of options when I saw one of the guys fall backward. This girl, who had a mouth on her, broke through the crowd and stood in front of me, and to put it nicely- she told them to back the hell off. Noah came running down the hall not long after when he heard about the guys getting ready to do something to me. What hat something was I still don't know. That girl was Cindy. She was never at a loss for words, that's for sure."

"After that day the three of us were inseparable. Wherever one was you could probably find the other two nearby. Noah was grateful for Cindy looking out for me and I was grateful for a real friend. She loved me for me freakish abilities and all. Cindy was the best friend I ever had. When Noah graduated a year ahead of us I needed Cindy more than ever. I had never done anything with out him and now he was gone, out in the real world. Cindy continued to make all the jerks feel worse than they would have made me feel if they started with me." Max laughed lightly remembering the looks on their faces after a run-in with Cindy.

"About a month before graduation I decided to tell Cindy everything about me. The fact that I was different wasn't a secret. Everyone knew about the tattoo, my lack of a past, and the photographic memory. Cindy was my best friend; she needed to know it all. Noah didn't like the idea but he did understand why I wanted to do it and he stood behind me as always. So the three of us got together at my house one night and I told her everything; about the super strength, telescopic vision, cat-like reflexes, flexibility and odd cycles, my need for little to no sleep, my fear of the military, the weird hair cut, the training-everything she didn't already know. I explained how I didn't really know who I was. Noah told her about how they found me and how I acted when I was first brought home. We told Cindy everything that we knew. She just sat there staring off into nowhere for almost 5 minutes. I was so scared that she would hate me or be totally disgusted. But she gave me this huge hug and said to me, "Maxie, you are my Boo. You always will be, memory or no memory, super girl or no super girl. I love you girl.""

"I had never been so relieved in my life. She was my best friend no matter what. That night changed everything, now Cindy knew it all. Even my parents didn't know everything, and they still don't. From then on I didn't feel so lost without Noah at school cause my girl had my back and there were no more secrets. Before we knew it, Cindy had to leave for school in a week. We had one more girl's night that ended up lasting for 24 hours. We swore that we'd stay in touch and that we'd still tell each other everything. I walked halfway home with her that night, neither one of us wanting to admit that it was all over. After a 10-minute hug and 'see you laters' we finally walked back to our homes. "Hey Boo! Watch out for that secret government agency! They might want your specialized DAN ass back!" she called over her shoulder. That had become an inside joke between us. It was the strangest thing we could possibly think of when it came to my past. It was twisted but we found it funny. "You know it Boo!" I shouted back laughing. Maybe 2 minutes later I heard a gun shot coming from where I had just been. I don't remember ever moving so fast. By the time I got to the site of the shot I saw a black jeep driving away and my best friend dying on the ground." Max paused staring out into the night where she could see the whole event playing out in the sky.

"I held her in my arms while she died. She told me to be careful because there are some nasty guys with guns who have it in for me. She died a few minutes later. That's what got me started on this whole find my past thing. Now that I've found it… Those Manticore scumbags killed my best friend because they thought that she knew too much. I've got to stop them Logan, before they hurt someone else."

"My God Max, I'm sorry." Logan said kneeling down at her feet and wiping away the tears unknowingly streaming down her face.

"It's not your fault." Max said not pulling away.

"It's not yours either. How could you have possibly known about these monsters and what they're capable of? It's not your fault they killed Cindy Max. You have to stop blaming yourself." Logan said holding her Max's face in his hands. 

"But if I never told her…"

"Things might be exactly the same. Max, you couldn't do anything to stop it. And if you want to stop these guys you have to stop feeling guilty, because they'll just use it against you. Ok?"

"I miss her so much. She was my other half." Max said as fresh tears spilled over onto her cheeks.

"Everything is going to work out okay. I promise you that." Max nodded silently in agreement as Logan enveloped her in a hug. When Max's tears finally dried Logan moved up onto the sofa facing Max. 

"Do you want some coffee? Or hot cocoa?" Logan offered hoping to lighten the mood. 

"No thanks. I'm fine."

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Logan asked putting his elbow on the back of the sofa and resting his head on his hand.

"Nope. Ask away. I'm sure you have a million of them." Max smiled weakly. 

"Only a few. But, what was it like when you discovered you were 'special'?" Logan said choosing his words carefully.

"Ummmm well, the abilities were always sort of a given. I always knew that they were there and I always knew how to use them. I just didn't know why. That's probably why it was so easy to censor my parents' knowledge about what I was."

"Why didn't you tell them everything?"

"To protect them I guess, or to protect myself. As soon as they took me home I knew that I didn't want to lose them. So I decided to only tell them what could be explained away, like the photographic memory, they saw the tattoo and I can't exactly hide the seizures as you can see. I didn't want to scare them away. I didn't want to be alone anymore. These people wanted me because the saw something in me that no one did before- a little kid that just need love. Now I just don't want them to worry about me."

"That's understandable Max."

"I guess. But, enough about me. Let's talk about you."Max said excitedly and shifted her weight so she was facing Logan.

"Okay," Logan laughed, "What do you want to know?"

"What's the deal with Eyes Only?" 

"My brother; Alex, was forced into some criminal activities by a low life mob boss who threatened his family. Alex did everything he was asked to down to the very last detail, but they killed my brother, his wife and his three baby girls anyway. As a journalist, I couldn't let that go unnoticed. As a brother I wanted vengeance. So Eyes Only was born."

"What happened to the mob boss?" Max asked quietly.

"He was killed by his own men because they thought they were being replaced. The men eventually turned on each other."

"So you got your vengeance."

"I guess you could say that. Afterwards, I knew I didn't want other people to suffer like my brother and his family; I couldn't just be a spectator anymore. I had to get in the game and make a difference in this screwed up world of ours. I like to think that I am, but sometimes I'm not so sure." Logan said slightly shaking his head.

"You are making a difference Logan, one life at a time. That's all that one person can do." Max said putting her hand on his.

"Then why doesn't seem like I'm doing anything? Every time I take down one guy five more pop up."Logan lifted his eyes to meet Max's.

"Because you see so much pain in the world and you can't do anything on a mass scale. But look around you Logan; you've done the impossible for me. You found my non-existent past. No one else could have done it." Logan simply smiled at Max unsure of how to respond to her statement.

"Well aren't we the pair." Max said with a laugh after a few minutes of silence.

"Yeah I guess we are." Logan laughed pulling Max towards him so she fell forward onto his chest. Max instantly tensed due to the contact between them. _Oh my God! What do I do, what do I do? I didn't come here for this. This wasn't supposed to happen. _Logan wrapped his arms around her hoping to calm her down. _But this isn't the worst place in the world to be. Actually it's kindda nice. _Max let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding in and settled in on her side next to Logan. She buried her head in the crook of his neck and casually draped her arm across Logan's chest. Logan put one arm around Max's waist.

"Comfortable?" Logan chuckled.

"Yes actually. Thank You." _Just go with it. Stop over thinking everything and go with your gut for once. It's never let you down before. _

__"What do you say we call Noah tomorrow and have lunch. That way you get to see him for a little while."

"Are you serious?!" Max squealed pushing herself up on her elbow to see Logan's face.

"Yeah." He laughed at her excitement. Max lay back down with a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you Logan." Max gave him a quick hug. "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it."

"Why am I so tired?" Max asked as she slowly drifted off a few minutes later.

"You've had a rough couple of days. Just try and get some rest, you're gonna need it." He whispered into her hair.

"Good night Logan." Max murmured.

"Good night Max." Logan said gently brushing away dark strands of hair from her face.

"Sweet dreams." She added a moment later.

"Sweet dreams." Logan smiled as he kissed the top of her head. Logan watched Max sleep for a half hour grateful for the opportunity to watch her. 

_How did this happen? I know I didn't plan this. But here I am just the same with Max asleep in my arms. She's the most incredible, smart, compassionate, strong and beautiful woman in the world. I took a chance and trusted her for reasons I don't know and it turns out that it was more of a risk for her to even ask for help. I don't think that I could handle it if I let her down. When she was crying, I would have done anything to make her smile. She was tearing my heart out. All I want is to protect her from all the garbage she was forced to deal with. I wish I could make this whole Manticore thing go away so she could have the happy normal life she deserves. _

Logan kissed Max's head again unable to resist the urge._ Oh God, I think I'm falling for her, and falling hard. _Logan pulled his hand from behind his head and wrapped his arm around the angel I his arms and sighed as he closed his eyes. _Oh yeah I've fallen hard._

_ _

_ _

_ _

~OK, there you go people! Chapter 4. As I said I'm sorry for the time between updates but it's a little crazy here in college. I don't get all that much time to write. But I do it for you! Teehee. So if you want me to write faster or tell me my story sucks review or email me. I'd love to hear from you.[luvvbug101@hotmail.com][1] Thanks guys!Luv-ya, ~~Amanda~~ 

   [1]: mailto:luvvbug101@hotmail.com



	5. Family Reunion

Shadows of the Past Amanda Wolanin Normal Amanda Wolanin 4 716 2001-11-06T17:39:00Z 2001-11-07T05:43:00Z 5 2913 12530 school 245 78 20397 9.3821 88 0 

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 5: Reunion

I know I've taken forever and a day to get this up…but what can I say…I'm sorry. **Kat**, here's you new chapter…..so stop whining…lol….and stop trying to pump me for info…cause you're not getting anymore….but I love ya sweets!  I wanna say thanks to everyone who has reviewed and e-mailed me I love you all! Oh and to all you DA writers who may be reading this…I and some other DA fans have noticed a strange similarity with the shows and our fics…what's the deal with that? All we'd like if you use our stuff is some credit and a chance to meet the cast…we're not asking much……J 

I don't own DA…never will…unless I somehow marry into the Cameron family…which is doubtful…so don't bother suing it will do you no good…  

***********

       Max and Logan got off to a late and reluctant start trying to uncover the master-mind behind the blackmail. It was hard to concentrate on the matter at hand when shameless flirting was taking place three feet away. Logan was at his usual post in front of the monitor and key board while Max had become accustomed to sitting beside him on the desk top with her feet resting on the arm of his chair. Leaning back in his chair Logan sighed, picking up Max's feet and put them in his lap beginning to massage them.

       "Okay, so we've determined that it's not Lydecker or Renfro right?" Logan asked looking at Max.

       "Yeah," Max smiled, amused with Logan's spontaneous foot rub, "why would they even try it? They don't need the money. And I would think that they'd be a little more creative with whole thing. And they are the "secret government agency" so they can't exactly turn me in…" Max said rolling her eyes.

       "You think maybe it could be an old lab tech or a guard? Just a former Manticore employee who could use some cash?" Logan offered.

       "That's my guess. Who else would know about Manticore's little projects?"       

       "But, what worries me Max is how some lab tech found you, and knew who you were." Logan said pausing in his foot massage.

       "I don't know Logan, but I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll never find out where the root of this is because I'll be so focused on some flunky trying to ruin my life." Max said sternly, getting a silent nod from Logan in response. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Logan decided to break in.

       "Hey isn't it time for you to go see Noah?" he asked looking at his watch.

       "Oh jeeze! Yeah, thanks." Max smiled jumping off the desk and running to her room to change. A couple of minutes later she bounced out into the hall grabbing her jacket.

       "You coming?" she called to Logan who was still sitting at his computer.

       "I figured that you'd want some time alone with your brother." Logan answered, shocked that she wanted him to be there.

       "I want him to meet you Logan." Max said squatting down beside his chair. "You're the guy who's letting me stay with him while I'm working with Eyes Only, and you've become a really good friend to me Logan. Maybe more." she added with a smile. "So, you coming or not?" 

       "You sure it's okay?" 

       "Please?" Max pouted.

       "Alright, just give a minute." Logan agreed slowly rising from the chair.

       "Thank you!" Max squealed kissing him on the cheek. "You're really gonna like Noah." Max said loud enough so Logan could hear her in his room.  "You're actually a lot alike. You both want to help people as much as you can, you both put up with me and all my issues…" Max trailed off talking more to herself than Logan.

       "I do not put up with you." Logan said coming up from behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. "I like having you around and as for your issues, they're a part of you so, I don't mind. And plus we never have met if it wasn't for your issues." He continued resting his chin on Max's shoulder.

       "Good point." Max turned her head slightly so she could see Logan's face. _I didn't realize he was this close…I mean I knew that he was there,  but I didn't know that he THAT CLOSE….Max you're not making any sense…well how can I have a coherent thought with Logan an inch away from kissing me….and why does he have to smell so damn good…but would kissing him be as tragic as you're trying to convince yourself it would be?…..I think not._

"We should get going. Don't want to be late." Max said before turning to grab her keys. Logan had given her a set the night she came. He said that he didn't want her to feel like a prisoner so this way she could come and go as she pleased. "Ready?"

       "Yeah." Logan said a bit deflated. _Remember, she probably thinks of you like a big brother. She said that you're a lot like Noah, that can't be good for my chances. But what do you expect with the age difference? But a guy can hope can't he? I've never known anyone like her, and never will after her…stranger things have happened than a guy's dream girl falling for him…just look at Manticore._

Max took Logan's hand from her hip and laced her fingers through his. 

       "Let's go see my big brother." Max said, her excitement made her eyes sparkle.

*******

Max and Logan sat a table for four in a little café not far from Logan's apartment as they waited for Noah. 

       "There he is!" Max said excitedly, as she popped up out of her chair. Logan couldn't help laughing at her. She reminded him of a toddler in a toy store. 

       "Noah," Max said as she trotted over to her brother. It had only been a few days since they had seen each other, but they had been together almost everyday since their parents picked Max up off the street..

       "Maxie!" Noah said quickly closing the last few feet between and enveloping her in a massive bear hug that lifted her off the ground. "How you doing?" he asked putting her back on the ground.

       "I'm good. I'm sooo happy to see you! Come here, you've gotta meet Logan." Max led her brother to the table where Logan was watching the reunion unfold.          

       "Noah, this is Logan Cale. Logan this is my brother Noah." 

       "Nice to meet you Noah. I've heard a lot about you." Logan said standing up and shaking Noah's hand across the table.

       "All good stuff I hope." Noah quipped as he sat down next to Max.

       "Of course it's all good!" Max cut in. "Logan is the guy I've been staying with while working with Eyes Only. And don't worry, he's been a complete gentleman. I know how your mind works when it comes to me and guys." Max laughed.

       "Thanks a lot man, for letting her stay with you." Noah looked at Max from the corner of his eye, "I wasn't exactly thrilled when she wrote and told me she was living with a guy, but we didn't have much of choice in the matter. Thanks for treating her with respect. That's more than a lot of guys would these days."

       "It's nothing. It's nice having someone else in the house. It can get pretty lonely sometimes. Plus, Max is fun to have around," Logan looked at the woman sitting next to him and smiled, "she's a great person. They broke the mold when they made her." As soon as the words came out of his mouth Logan wished they hadn't. It was just a common phrase, but it had a little more meaning in Max's situation. And Logan had just in essence thrown it in her face that she was in fact made.  

_I'm sorry_. Logan mouthed when he caught Max's eye. _I'm  so sorry_.  

_It's okay. Don't worry about it_. Max replied silently.

       "That's for sure." Noah laughed good naturedly at his sister. "What's the deal?" he asked when he noticed that he was the only one laughing.

       "Long story. We should probably go somewhere else to talk though." Max said quietly.

       "Yeah." Logan nodded in agreement. "I know where we can go." Simultaneously, both Max and Logan stood and put on their jackets.

       "Why do we have to leave?" Noah asked, obviously confused. He just followed when he didn't get an answer. "Maxie," he said taking her hand as they walked behind Logan, "are you okay? If you aren't tell me now."       

       "Noah, I'm fine. I promise. It's just sort of a complicated situation and this isn't the place to talk about it." Max rested her head on his shoulder as they walked down the side-walk. After a five minute walk the trio arrived at a long since forgotten park. Max smiled to herself, she loved this place. She had found it a few months ago when she went on a walk to clear her head. Seeing the small stone wall Max made herself comfortable for the long discussion. Logan sat beside her so he could be there for moral support he knew she'd need. 

       "You might want to sit." Max said meekly.

       "I'm fine standing." Noah said unable to read his sister's expression. Max took a deep breath trying to calm here fears. _I know that he's not going to hate because of all this crap, but he'll never look at me the same way again. I'm not gonna be his innocent baby sister anymore. I'll be the poor 'abused' kid his parents picked up on the street, sister the eyes of the world but….NO! Noah loves me for who I am. That's not going just because some questions are answered. It can't._

"Noah, you're my big brother and I love you. You know that." Max said looking him in the eye.

       "Of course Maxie, I love you too." Concern filled Noah's eyes as he watched Max struggle with her words.

       "I'm not what you think I am." Logan covered Max's hand with his own. "All of those weird abilities that I have aren't just flukes or the result of mother nature. I was, ummm, created by a group of scientists that worked for the government in Project Manticore. I was meant to be the perfect soldier, assassin; the perfect human. The only way that they could have the perfect soldier, flaws like emotion, pain, individuality had to be over come. So they spliced animal DNA and human DNA for the best of both worlds and put the prototypes in military training as soon as they walk. I'm one of the prototypes, Noah. I was from the group known as X5's. In '09, 12 of us broke out after our 'sister' Eva was killed. We didn't even have names really, we had numbers. That's what the bar-code is, my ID. Mom and Dad found me a few days later. I don't know why I can't remember anything that happened back then, maybe it was too traumatic or maybe I just didn't want to so I could try and have a normal life. Whatever that is." Max sighed deeply. Saying it all out made it real, and in this case she wasn't sure reality was a good thing. 

Noah knelt down in front of the woman who used to be a lost little girl. Now she was a beautiful grown woman who had had a worse childhood than he could ever had imagined. 

"Maxie," he forcing her to look at him, "no matter what happened in your past, or how you came into this world, you are always going to be my baby sister. Nothing can ever change that. I love just as much if not more than if you were blood. I love you little one, never forget that." Noah eyes glistened with tears. _How could she ever think that I wouldn't see her as my sister just because of some psycho doctors? She's my little one. _Noah gently pulled her into a hug.   

*****

       The three friends had been talking about random things; from Eyes Only to any progress with the blackmail problem to pollution to chess, for almost two hours in the forgotten park. 

       "I'm gonna get something to drink. You want anything?" Logan asked heading over towards a vendor across the street.

       "Naw, I'm good. Thanks though." Max smiled.

       "Noah?"

       "No thanks." 

       Max watched Logan walk away quietly with a smirk on her face.

       "You like him don't you?" Noah said poking her with his elbow.

       "What?" Max asked innocently, ripped out of her thoughts.

       "Don't pull that crap with me Maxie. I know you too well. You like him don't you?" he laughed.

       "Yeah, Noah. I like him a lot." She sighed leaning over on her big brother, never taking her eyes off Logan as he walked back towards them.

       "And so what if I do?" Max laughed, "You gotta problem with that?" Max said in her best New York accent. 

       "Got a problem with what?" Logan asked with an odd look on his face. _Were they talking about me?_ Both Noah and Max burst in a fit of hysterical laughter. "What?" 

****

       "I'll see you soon baby sister." Noah whispered into Max's hair as he hugged her good-bye in front of his car.

       "You know it." Max choked out, trying not to cry.

       "I love you little one. Always." Noah kissed Max's forehead.

       "I love you too. Drive careful." She said backing up so he could get in his car. "And tell Mom and Dad I said 'Hi' and that I love them."

       "Will do. Bye Maxie." 

       "Bye." She whispered. Logan walked up beside a teary-eyed Max and put his arm around her shoulder. 

       "You okay?" 

       "Yeah." She answered so softly it was barely audible.

       "Come on sweetie, let's go back to the apartment.." 

       "Can I have some hot cocoa?" Max said suppressing a laugh as they began walking back towards Logan's penthouse.

       "You can have anything your little heart desires." He chuckled.

       "Promise?" Max asked looking up at Logan's face with a devilish grin.

       "Should I be scared?" 

       "Depends. Do you like musicals?"

****

       Max sat on the sofa later that night curled up in Logan's arms unable to wipe the smile off her face.  

       "Logan, thank you soooo much!" Max said quickly turning around to face him.

       "I can't believe you're this excited about a musical." He said brushing a stray lock of hair out of her face.

       "It wasn't just a musical Logan. It was _Newsies_!" (AN: I happen to personally believe that _Newsies_ is one of the greatest musicals of all time. Anyone who thinks differently can take it up with me. J)

       "I'm so sorry. How could I make such an error? Whatever was I thinking?" Logan mocked a caught criminal raising his hands in surrender.

       "I don't know but you're cute when you're guilty of musical ignorance." Max said patting his cheek.

       "Hey, I have a question." Logan said with a mischievous grin.

       "Okay…"

       "Were you and Noah talking about me when I went to get something to drink?" 

       "Maybe." Max said with a straight face. _2 can play this game._

       "Were you?" he pushed the subject.

       "Actually yes." _Ha! Take that hot shot. _

       "Really?" _Oh my God, she was talking about me. But what was she saying? _"What about?"

       "Noah asked me if I liked you." _You might as well get it out in the open. But then there's always the rejection factor._

"And.." _Way to pry Logan. _

       Tell him. Just say yes. It's a three letter word, it's not that complicated. Just breathe, and tell him.

       "Yeah," she whispered her eyes falling from his, "a lot."

       "Max?" Logan lifted her chin with his index finger so she would look him in the eye.

       "Hmm?" Logan slowly leaned in closer getting lost in Max's dark eyes.. 

       **RING!**_ What?. _**RING!**_ Only Noah has this number_! **RING!**_ Something's wrong!_      

       Max jumped up off the sofa and her hand shot out and grabbed her new cell phone and flipped it open in one fast motion fearing the worst. Logan could see the fear in Max's eyes, but still the disappointment of missing what almost happened hung between them.

       "Noah?! What's wrong?" Max asked panicked.  

       "Nothing." He answered casually.

       "You scared the hell outta me! I thought something happened." Max let out a sigh of relief. _It's ok,._ she mouthed to Logan.

       "Sorry, but I had to tell you something before I went to bed."

       "What?" Max asked, her curiosity peaked.

       "Your big brother has finally met a guy he trusts enough to let his guard down." 

       "Noah, what are you talking about?" Max asked turning her back to Logan so he couldn't hear her as well. "Are you saying.."

       "Yeah, baby sister. I like Logan, a lot. And I trust him with you."

       "That says a lot. Thanks." Max commented honestly touched that her brother thought so highly of Logan. Noah's approval had always been important to her.

       "Love you sis."

       "Love you too. Oh, Noah…" Max stopped in mid sentence when she heard a faint click from the other end of the line and the line went dead.

       "Noah?…..Noah!" Max spun on her heal to face Logan once again. "NOAH!" Max screamed before the phone fell out of her hand and crashed onto the floor. _Oh God, no! God please no._

"Max?! What's wrong?" Logan asked walking to the frantic woman in front of him. 

       "I've gotta get to them." Max sobbed. 

       Before Logan could try to stop her Max grabbed her leather jacket and ran out the penthouse door faster than anything he had ever seen.

       "Max, wait! I'm coming with you!" Logan called knowing she was probably too far away to hear him as he grabbed his car keys and jacket, and running out the door. 

Oh what is a reader to do? When the author leaves ya hanging like this don't ya just wanna kill 'em? If you do or if you don't tell me. You can review or you can e-mail me : luvvbug101@hotmail.com take your pick, but please let me know what you think.


	6. And It All Came Crashing Down

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 6: And it all crashing down…

Please don't hurt me! I know that it's been WAY too long since I posted, but again I say that I am lazy and in college… But if all goes as I plan I should have the story finished by Christmas…(don't say I never gave you anything…teehee).  I have 2 or 3 chapters left so we're just about done. Kat, Autumn….tanks for the constant nagging…otherwise I might still have my sanity…lol. I luv you guys and everyone else who reviews! So please, Review! Review! Review!  Yes I am begging, but I have long since lost all my dignity.  But seriously, if you read this at all…let me know!!!!!!!!!! Luvvbug101@hotmail.com 

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The pillar of smoke could be seen from miles away. Max prayed it wasn't her house, although she knew that is in the back of her mind.  As she ran a simple prayer ran through her head over and over again, _God let them be okay. Just let them be alive. Please.  _Max jumped on the back of a moving truck, hitching a ride to catch her breath.

_-_

        Logan tapped his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as he waited for the light to change.

        "Come on . Come on." He muttered. Hoping that Max was on the way to her house he was on his way to meet her there. _Where else would she be headed?  _Logan's eyes fell to the envelope Max had sent him only days before on the seat beside him. The return address was his only guide as to how he would find Max's house. He had lived in the city long enough to know his way around fairly well, but he still wasn't completely sure of where he was going.  A million scenarios ran through Logan's mind as he thought about what could have happened to cause Max to run out like she did, none of which were good. _God, please let her be okay and safe._  

        The second the stop light turned Logan floored the accelerator unconcerned with any possible sector police in the area.

_-_

        _No. This can't be happening. It can't be. _Max stood at the end of her driveway in shock. The home she loved, the only home she had ever known was engulfed in flames leaving her helpless to do anything to stop it.  And worst of all her family was trapped inside. _I've got to help them.._ Taking a deep breathe to calm her nerves, Max sprang forward running towards the side entrance and kicked down the door. Immediately Max was hit with a thick wave of smoke, Max put an arm to her mouth to block out some of the oppressive smoke.  

        "Mom! Daddy?" she called walking through the kitchen that was scattered with debris. The damage was unimaginable within the house. _What could have done this? It looks like a bomb went off in here? Oh my God-a bomb._  Max rounded the corner into the hallway on the way to her parents room as the flames snapped at her body. Unable to stand the dense smoke any longer Max dropped to her hands and knees and crawled into her parents mangled room, where her eyes fell on her father.

        "Daddy?" Max cried, climbing under the clutter and debris in her path. Carefully rolling him on his back her fingers hesitantly felt for a pulse, but found nothing.

        "Daddy." She whispered lightly running the tips of her fingers over his salt and pepper stubble. Max squeezed her eyes shut, hoping it was all just a bad dream and that she could wake up in Logan's arms, as a single tears slid down her cheek. Opening her eyes, Max crawled the few feet to her mother only to find that she too was gone.

        "I'm sorry Mom. I'm so sorry." 

        With a loud crack and a splash of sparks a beam fell from the hall's ceiling snapping Max back into reality.  Jumping to her feet Max scrambled out towards the living room to look for Noah.  _Where are you?_ Max's eyes darted across the flame and smoke filled room..

        "Noah!" Max called before coughing into her sleeve.

        "Maxie?" Noah called weakly from behind the couch. Max was actually glad for the first time that she had enhanced hearing because otherwise she never would have heard him over the sound of the fire.  Running to her brother's side Max dropped to her knees. 

        "Noah, I'm getting you out of here." Max said assessing the situation. One of the main support beams had fallen pinning Noah underneath it. His leg was definitely broken, his hip probably was too; not to mention the internal injuries that were nearly certain. 

        "Maxie, you have to get out of here. The roof could cave any second." Noah said through his coughs.

        "I'm not leaving without you. You hip and leg are probably broken but I can carry you out. I just need to move this beam." Max found the end of the beam  a few feet away, caught on the edge of a table propping it up about two feet from the ground. Positioning herself under the end so it was resting on her shoulder, Max pushed up with everything she had.

        "Arrggghh!" Noah screamed in pain with the slight movement when Max tried to move the beam. 

        "It won't move!" Max yelled angrily before trying a few more times.

        "Maxie."

        "I can't life it high enough." Max said flopping down beside her brother once again, now in tears,

        "Maxie." Noah repeated.

        "I don't know what to do." She said suppressing a sob. "You're trapped"

        "Max." Noah said more sternly putting a hand on the side of her tear streaked face. "It's okay, it's not your fault. But you really do need to get out while you can."    

        "I'm not leaving you here." She said stubbornly shaking her head.

        "Maxie, please get out. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." He lied. He knew very well he was going to die if he stayed. But he also knew that he'd probably die if Max moved the beam, because of internal bleeding its weight was preventing.

        "Noah, no." Max said coughing, "I won't leave you here to die. If I can't walk out of here with you I'm not walking out at all." Max ducked slightly seeing yet another piece of the roof fall near by.

        "Max please." Noah begged. Max laid her head down gently on her brothers chest. Noah placed his hand on her head and loving stroked her hair. "Please Maxie. You know how much I love you and I'd do anything for you. So please, do this for me. Get out while you still can." Noah finished just a coughs wracked his body.

        "I can't lose you!" Max sobbed, "You're all I have left."

        "You got Logan now." Noah looked into his sister's dark eyes that were begging him to tell her to stay. "Get out Max. Now." Noah ordered seeing more of the house collapsing.

        "Noah. I love you." She whispered in his ear before kissing his forehead. "Always." Slowly Max got to her feet planning her escape route. Her only option was the front window because of the crash in the kitchen.

Max turned back to look at Noah, who was smiling at her. _I love you. Go_ he mouthed. Max smiled back sadly and nodded.

Crouching down Max closed her eyes and took in as much clean air as possible reminding herself to breathe. Lifting her head Max looked straight ahead out the window. _It looks like a pretty clear path…damn what's that?_ A large piece of wood had fallen a couple of feet in front of the window right in Max's way. _Oh goodie a step stool_. Max shot up and sprinted as fast as she could towards the window. When she reached it seconds later, Max firmly planted a foot on the "stool" and pushed off as hard as she could, diving towards the pane of glass. Tucking her head into the nook created by her arms that were bent upwards to take the brunt of the impact instead of her head her doubt grew. _I hope this works she_ thought as her forearms hit the glass.

_-_

        "Max!" Logan called as her frantically paced across the front yard of the burning house. _Why did she go in alone?_ When he had first pulled up by the source of the huge smoke pillar his heart stopped.  This was Max's home and he knew she'd do whatever it took to save them; even if it meant sacrificing herself. _I've got to find her. She shouldn't be in there by herself. Does the term 'buddy system' mean anything to her?_ The collapse of another portion of the roof pulled Logan from his rantings. _That's it! I'm going in after her._ Logan decided the quickest way in was the front door seeing as how the side entrance just caved. _Hold on Max I'm coming_. Logan trotted towards the door just as the large bay window behind him exploded. 

        "What the hell!" Logan said as he ducked. Turning around to see what had caused to window's explosion Logan saw Max rolling forward on the ground, ending in the position she began amidst a shower of broken glass.

        "Max. My God." Logan was immediately at her side. "Max, are you okay?" he asked brushing the hair from her face as she gasped for air.

        "Max?" he asked quietly, seeing the extreme pain and sadness in her eyes.

        Another large explosion ripped through the house bringing down the rest of the roof and interior walls. Logan instinctively used his body to shield Max.  

        "Noah!" Max screamed fighting against Logan's embrace. "Noah!"

        "Max, no! No, you can't go back in there." He said gently, trying to calm her down. Logan knew that if she really wanted to, Max could through him off with the flick of a finger.

        "Noah is still in there, Logan! He's hurt. I shouldn't have left him." Falling to her knees, Max crumbled against Logan's chest sobbing.

        "Shhh. Shhh." Logan whispered into her hair. Gently picking her up, Logan carried Max to his car and set her down inside. Silently walking around to the driver's side, he paused to look at the crumbling house before climbing in his Aztec. _I'll take good care of her. I promise. If she lets me_. Logan turned the ignition starting the ride back to his apartment-this time doing the speed limit. His feeling of helplessness grew as he watched Max curl up in a ball against the door and cry. He'd do anything to make her smile.

        "Come here." Logan said gently lifting his arm to make room , when he stopped for a stop sign. Max slowly slid across the seat and curled up next to Logan, resting her head on the inside of his shoulder.  Wrapping his arm around her Logan sighed, beginning to stroke her dark hair.

        "I'm sorry Max." he told her not knowing what else to say.

        "So am I." Max replied so softly Logan barley heard her. Turning her head into his shoulder Max cried tightening her grip on Logan's shirt.   

_-_

        Logan opened the door to his apartment mutely and led Max inside by the hand.

        "Why don't you clean up and lay down. I'll get you some warm milk to help you sleep." Logan put a stray piece of hair behind Max's ear and smiled gently. "Use my bathroom. It's got the whirlpool and bath oils." 

        "Okay. Thanks." Max whispered. Peeling off her jacket Max winced slightly.  

"My God Max." Logan said in shock, seeing the deep cuts that covered her forearms. "I'm gonna have to clean those when you finish showering." Max simply looked down at her arms unfazed and nodded  before going to get a change of clothes. She was filthy; covered in soot and smoke. 

Ten minutes later Max sat on Logan's bed in a tank top and flannel pants with her knees pulled up to her chest waiting for Logan to return with the first aid kit.

"Okay, let me see." He said sitting down on the edge of the bed gently taking Max's arm in his hands and dabbing the wounds with a disinfectant.

"Feeling any better?" Logan asked trying to get Max to talk, about anything.

"Cleaner, not better." She said bitterly. "Ow!"

"Sorry." Logan moving onto the other arm with the disinfectant.

"I'm a monster Logan." Max muttered as she watched him gently clean her injuries. 

"What? That's not true and you know it." Logan said putting a few sutures on the deepest cuts.

"Yes it is Logan. I left my brother to die. Just so I could save myself." Fresh tears formed in her eyes. Logan finished cleaning out Max's cuts and put the supplies on the night-stand.

"I've only met Noah once and it wasn't for very, but I know that he loves you very much. And I would have to guess that he told you to go. I can promise you Max, you are in no way a monster." Logan took Max's facing in his hands to emphasize his last statement. Closing her eyes, Max tried to convince herself of what Logan was saying. She actually almost believed him,

"I'm an orphan." She said quietly as the realization hit her. "And homeless. God I don't have a home to go back to when this is all over. My best friend, my parents, Noah, they're all gone. I've got nothing left. I am totally and completely alone." Max said more to herself than to Logan.

"You can stay here as long as you need to." Logan offered with out hesitation. 

"I can't do that. Only as long as I have this whole blackmail case. That's what was decided remember?" Max said stubbornly.

 "You always have me Max." Logan ventured. "And my door is always open." Logan kissed Max's forehead not wanting to argue with her. "Now why don't' you try to get some sleep." Max leaned back into the mountain of pillows and snuggled into the blanket Logan had just given her. It was nice to just relax and not have to do anything. She felt like the world was on her shoulders and the biggest part of it fell shattering into a million pieces tonight.

"Goodnight." Logan whispered standing to leave.

"Logan?" Max called, "don't leave me alone. Please." _I know I'm safe with you. Nothing can hurt me at least for a little while._ With a small smile Logan nodded and lay down on the bed, wrapping his arms her. 

        "Sweet dreams" Logan said softly.  _I can't believe she's actually letting me do this. And it was her idea! _

        "I hope so." Max sighed. "Goodnight Logan, and thank you." Logan kissed her temple knowing what she was trying to say.  

        Once Logan heard the deep, even breathing  that indicated Max had finally fallen asleep, he let himself follow not long after with Max still in his arms.

_-_

        Max's eyes shot open with a start a few hours later. Logan's arms wrapped around her a little tighter with her slight movement. Smiling, Max quietly slid out of Logan's arms careful not to wake him and headed for the guest room to change. 

        I need some fresh air. I have to think all this out….Max walked into the kitchen to grab a pen and paper.

**Logan,**

**            I went for a walk. I need to get some air to clear my head. Don't' worry about me, I'm okay. I'll be back soon. ****J**

        Max paused with the pen hovering over the paper. _How do I sign this? Love?-no. You're friend-definitely not! Okay, just think… what comes naturally? It's not really that hard._  Shaking her head in frustration Max just signed the note with ease.

        **Luv, **

**            Max**

_-_

        Logan woke up to find his arms empty. Figuring that she went to her own room or to the bathroom Logan got up to get something to drink. Putting down the empty of glass on the counter, a lose piece of paper caught his eye. It's from Max. Logan read the note unable to suppress a smile after reading the way she signed it. I hope she's okay.  

What was that? Logan slowly turned to walk towards the hallway in front of his office.  Why is the sky light open? Before he knew what was happening Logan was being help up against the wall, his feet brushing the floor.

"Where is Max!" a young man demanded. 

"What?" Logan coughed as the stranger's hand tightened around his throat.

"What did you do with Max?" 

"She went for a walk." Logan said defensively. "She left a note." He added shifting his eyes towards the kitchen. Pausing briefly, the young man cautiously put Logan's feet back on the floor. 

"Look, I don't want to piss you off anymore than you already are, but who are you and why are you in my apartment?" Logan demanded carefully.

"I'm Max's brother, Zack." 

_-_

          Max stuffed her hands deeper into her jean pockets while she looked up to where the stars should have been. Noah, God…this is so odd. I can't remember a time that you haven't been there for me to talk to about the stupid crap in my life. I miss you already.

        Turning the corner Max headed back towards Logan's place.

        "I swear to you Noah, I'll get the scum that did this to you. To Mom and Dad. To…to…my life…" Max vowed. Suddenly, a hard object came down on the back of her head. Max's vision turned bright red with the blow before fading to black.


	7. The World Can Wait

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 7: The World Can Wait…

  Okay, So I planned on this chapter being long, but not as long as it's turning out to be so I'm breaking up the chapter into 2 chapters.  So technically this is part one of chapter 7,,,,not that you really care though, as long as I post it right?  Well yeah, I'm still aiming to have this done before Christmas, but you never know with finals coming up and all…but I'm trying.  Anywho, Kat as always, you rock thanks for the input!  DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW…otherwise I'll think you think this sucks….so please review for me…thanks a million to everyone who has…you're the best! J 

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          "You're her brother?" Logan asked in shock. 

          "Yeah, in a way I guess. She was in my unit, I was her CO." Zack said coolly. 

          "Wait," Logan said as a thought struck him, "Why are you here?" As much as Logan wanted Max to find her past he didn't want to lose her either. And if Zack was here to take Max away; he wouldn't give her up without a fight.

          "Lydecker has been sniffing around a little too much for comfort. If he finds Max, she's in more trouble than you can imagine. I just hope she was smart enough not to get caught." Zack said pacing back and forth in front of Logan, his irritation growing.

          "How can you expect her to do-or not do that? She probably wouldn't recognize Lydecker if she saw him. As for not getting caught, she doesn't know that someone's out there trying to do any more that take her money." Logan argued stepping in Zack path.

          ""What are you talking about? Max is a soldier, she always has been. Of course she knows what's going on with Lydecker and that he's been after us for the past ten years. She's not stupid." Zack stalked to the window to see if Max was near by.

          "But she doesn't remember any of that! She has amnesia. Max doesn't remember anything of her childhood before the age of 10." Logan nearly shouted. Slowly Zack turned to face Logan, his face considerably paled. 

          "What?" he whispered.

          "She doesn't remember anything Zack. That's why she came to me. I've been helping to find her past. She was being black-mailed and her family was threatened. In order to protect them she had to know who she was up against so she came to me. I have a friend with some connections, that I used, we ended up hacking into government files and finding Manticore. Anything she does know about Manticore and what went on there is from what she read. Other than that…." Logan trailed off. 

          "So she doesn't remember me or the others, or what they did to us when we were only kids?" Zack asked his fear and concern growing rapidly,

          "No." Logan shook his head,

          "She's in more trouble than I thought. We have to find her, now! It may already be too late," Zack said intently to Logan.

          "What's going on here? What's wrong? Zack tell me!" Logan insisted taking hold of Zack's arm. Instinctively, Zack threw Logan off of him like a flea, crashing Logan into the wall. Everything flared red in Logan's mind upon impact. Fighting for consciousness, Logan carefully rose to his feet. Zack felt awful for what he had just done but there were more pressing matters at hand and he didn't have time to explain, especially to Logan. He didn't know the man let alone trust him.

          "Zack," Logan said getting his jacket from the back of the couch, "I'm coming with you whether you like it or not," he added seeing the disapproving look on the young man's face, 

          "Fine. But we're taking your car." Zack said walking out the door. "And I'll explain the rest on the way." He rolled his eyes and tried to cover the reluctant tone in his voice.

_-_

          "So they've already gotten three of you?" Logan asked, his heart breaking for the young man beside him.

          "Bryn, Ben, and Tinga. That I know of. That's just out of the ones who escaped. All of the ones who never got out are probably already dead. If they hurt Max I'll never forgive myself." Zack muttered looking out the window into the black night.           

          "What is about Max? Why is she so important to you?" Logan asked hoping that he wouldn't regret asking. His head still hurt from colliding with the wall early that night.

          "My entire unit is important to me!" he barked, making Logan flinch. 

          "I just the feeling she was, I dunno, special to you." Logan pressed not wanting to let the topic drop. Zack's face softened after a moment and he leaned back into the seat.

          "She was the baby of the family. But she was one of the strongest. Not only physically, but her will and independence,,,,, She was special. I just hope that she hasn't lost that fire." Zack shook his head, irritated that he had let his feelings get in the way for a moment. "But that's not important right now. We just need to get her out before it's too late,"

          "We'll get her out." Logan said taking a right turn into an open field as Zack had directed. "And, the fire is still there. I have never met a more determined, independent, and caring woman in my life. It sounds like Max is still the same person at the core, nothing will change that." 

          "Go strait for a mile the take a left and park in the cove." Zack told Logan trying ignoring what he had just been told. But no matter how much he tried, he would love Max until the day he died and would do anything for her; even if it meant giving up his life to save hers. Ever since he was a kid, Zack had known that Max was more than a soldier or a sister to him. It wasn't until he  was older and lost track of her that he knew it was love. The only way he knew how to deal with that was to protect her at all costs, and that was what he planned to do. 

          "When we get inside, follow me and keep your mouth shut. I don't know how heavy the security is, or exactly where anything is because this isn't Manticore. It's just the warehouse that they moved to after the agency collapsed. So I can't have any distractions."

          "Ok. I won't make a sound."

_-_

          Slowly Max opened her eyes, blinking a few times to bring her surroundings into focus. She tried to move to a more comfortable position but found that she couldn't move. Max was locked down onto a large metal table that was on a slight incline. Her hands were hand-cuffed behind her and then attached to the table by another lock. Her ankles were also locked down to the table, making sure that there would be no chance of her moving. Looking to the left and the right, Max saw nothing but bare walls and a door. _All the good stuff must be behind me._  Max tried to convince herself that this was just a dream, that she'd wake up any minute and be back at Logan's. But the throbbing pain in the back of her head was the unwanted voice of reason telling her that this was definitely real. 

          "Well, well, well, looks who's awake." A bitter and aged voice said from behind her. Max whipped her head around to see who the voice, praying that it would be a friendly face. But for some reason, the voice did nothing but strike fear throughout her entire soul.

          "Who are you?" Max asked finally finding the strangers eyes.

          "What? You don't remember me? 452, I'm hurt." He mocked. Max looked at the man before her intently, trying to place his face with a name.

          "Lydecker….?" She whispered as the pieces came together, _Oh God, if that's Lydecker then where am I?  _

          "That's better." 

          "it was you the whole time? The phone call…the black mail…"Max said shaking her head in confusion.

          "Please, that pathetic technician McIntire was the poor slob begging for money. However, he did make finding you much easier. You were a hard one to find…"he trailed off lost in his thoughts.

          "What do you want? Why am I here?" Max asked, fighting back tears. She was terrified, but she'd be damned if she let him know it.

          "452, you should know the answer to that." Lydecker said looking down at her, slightly confused by her demeanor.

          " Yeah, well I don't. If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly on top of things here. It's called amnesia. Apparently whatever the hell it was that you did to me as a kid screwed me up royally cause I don't remember it." Max said looking her captor dead in the eye.

          "Amnesia? Interesting," he took a step closer and reached out his hand to brush the hair out of her face. "Well, that could be why it was so hard to get you out in the open." He said letting his hand linger a little too long on her cheek. "Perhaps our efforts were a bit extreme."

          "Wait, it was you!?" Max spat pulling her head out of Lydecker's reach, "You were the one who killed the best friend I ever had and you killed my family? It was you the whole time." 

          "It was a necessary tactic. They knew too much, and couldn't be trusted. It was a security risk that could not be taken."

          "Why do I think it was more than that?" Max replied, her heart breaking because of the truth. Now she knew that it was her fault that everyone she loved was dead. It didn't matter how many times Logan said it wasn't anymore, because in reality – her family was dead because of her,

          "You always had a strong will 452, and it needed to be broken." He confessed coldly.

          "First of all my name is Max. Stop calling me 452." Max said wishing she could  just get out of there. "My will needed to broken?" How much do you think one person can take?" Squeezing her eyes shut, Max took a deep breath to calm her emotions.

          "Well, you did break my will a long time ago, but you also pissed me off. That was your mistake, cause now my will is stronger now more then ever. There is no way in hell I am gonna let you get away with this." 

          "Which is exactly why we need to take care of you now." Lydecker said unaffected by Max's statement.

          "And how do you plan on doing that?" 

          "It's simple really." A woman said walking in the door. "It's nice to see you 452."

          "And you would be?" Max asked audacity dripping from her words. 

          "Dr. Renfro. And it is a simple process actually. All it takes is one injection…" she said picking up a syringe and tapping it clear out any air bubbles. Max's eye's widened with fear as she began to understand why she was here.

          "So you're just gonna kill me? With no explanation? I think I deserve that much." Max said hoping by herself some time.

          "Are you scared 452?" Renfro asked cupping Max's face in her hand, with a sick smile on her face.

          "I just don't understand why I'm so important to you? I don't remember whatever it is that you're trying to protect or cover up. All I know is that I was a kid who grew up with a few special skills. Other than that I am in the dark."

          "Max, you have no idea how special you are." Lydecker interjected.

          "Did you take the sample yet?" Renfro asked Lydecker suddenly reminded of the necessary blood sample.

          "No. I, uhh, I forgot." He answered a bit embarrassed by his error.

          "Well it's a good thing that I asked before began the process isn't it?" she glared at the man across from her. 

          _What are they talking about? And why do they need a blood sample? I really don't like the sound of this though. Just breathe Max. Breathe, You have to stay calm if you want to get out of this alive. Just stay calm and keep them talking._

          "Why are you doing this?" Max asked as the vile filled with her blood sample. 

"Back in the early part of the century Manticore made a terrible mistake while mapping out the DNA of the perfect soldier. It was something that none of us ever expected: independence and free will. When it became obvious that each of our prototypes had these unwanted qualities, attempts to crush the will and independence were made resulting in the escape of you and eleven of your siblings. At that point the slate was whipped clean and a new improved prototype was created to replace all of the anomalies such as yourself." Renfro explained emotionlessly.

"Soon after the next generation of the perfect soldiers were created three of your fellow escapees burned the DNA lab to the ground after three others were captured and disassembled. We lost all of our research when Manticore burned to the ground. Because of these three." Lydecker said hitting a button that revealed a hidden room where three people where being held in large cylinders filled with a light blue liquid. It didn't seem likely that they were alive. It was a gruesome sight and Max had no choice but to look.     

"Bryn?" Max whispered softly her mind running wild with memories of the faces before her. But not truly understanding what was happening to her, "Ben? Tinga?" Tears sprung to Max's eyes as her heart broke for the people she wished she could remember. All she knew was that she loved them.

"So you do remember them?" Lydecker asked seeing her reaction. 

"No. I wish I did. But I don't - I can't." A tear slid down Max's cheek as the room was closed off from her view once again.

"But one of you, has the DNA we have  been trying to create since the beginning of Manticore. A soldier with no junk DNA of any kind. Each combination of acids and bass' had a specific purpose and the removal one of could be disastrous. The only problem is we don't know which one of you it is." Renfro continued. 

"That's why we need the blood" Lydecker added placing the vile in a cooling container.

"Okay, but what's that other thing?" Max said nodding towards the syringe laying on a metal tray.

"This is what's going to clean up the mess Manticore made decades ago. This is what brought your 'friends' here to their current condition."

"You mean dead." Max offered sarcastically.

          "You could say that." Lydecker said holding back a smile as Renfro reached for the syringe again. Max couldn't pull her from the prupleish gel within its sealed compartment.   

          "It's a great little invention. It was specifically designed to unravel transgenic DNA." Renfro beamed with pride when she spoke of the serum she held in her hand. 

          "And you're gonna use that on me?" Max asked trying to hide the fear in her voice.

          "Of course. You are a transgenic. We cant' have any mistakes running loose out there. They're dangerous. And unpredictable." Renfro said flatly,

          "But why?" Max began to panic. She didn't want to this way. Hell she didn't want to die at all. "I'm not a threat to you. I don't remember anything and I'm sure I could forget all this too. After the past few days I've had I could repress this easy. Please, I'm begging you, don't do this." Max begged her fear showing through  in her tears, now freely flowing.

          Renfro looked over to Lydecker with a devious grin that didn't bring Max much comfort. 

          "What do you think Deck? Shall we try it out?" 

          "Max always was a special one, so why not try it out, It could work better than expected on her." Lydecker's grin grew as he spoke.  Renfro put down the syringe on the way to the cooling container that was holding her blood sample. Carefully, she picked up a vile and a filled a clean syringe with the dark purple liquid. 

          "What's that?" Max whispered, watching Renfro clean a portion of her arm with an alcohol swab.

          "This, my dear is merely a preparation for tomorrow morning. You see, normally the serum would take about an hour or so to finish 'unzipping' the transgenic sequence. But with this it preps the DNA to be unraveled cutting the completion time by 75%." Slowly, Renfro injected the serum into Max's blood stream as tears flowed down her face.

          "Please, don't." Max begged, even though she knew that it was too late. 

          "I think that it should be effectively spread throughout her body by 8 am, don't you Deck?" 

          "That sounds about right." Lydecker flipped the latch that held the lock in place and roughly pulled Max's hands off of the hook and pulled her forward, then did the same with her ankles. Taking her off of the table, Lydecker dragged Max towards the open cell that was behind her.

          "I guess that means we'll see you in the morning." He said unlocking the handcuffs and throwing her into the empty cell. "Sweet Dreams." 

          "I hope that this has been as memorable for you as it has been for us." Renfro said, watching Max rub her sore wrists, through the bars. 

          "Yeah, it's been a night I wish I could forget." Max mumbled as she watched The pair walk across the room to the cooling container and put a vile in the large refrigerator near by.  _ What is that? _ Max listened closely trying to decipher what they saying. Unfortunately her super-hearing-ease-dropping-skills were out of practice and she could only make out one word: antigen.

          _If that's the antigen in there then all I have to do is get out of this cell and I'm ok as far as the serum goes… But how am I going to get out of here?  _

          Max sat down on the cold cement ground and leaned back against the wall. With her knees pulled up and her elbows resting on them, Max held her head in her hands to avoid the large painful bump on the back of her head. 

          _Why did I have to go for that damn walk? If you just stayed put for once in your life you would still be safe. But no, why would I ever just stay put and think when I'm inside? Always have to go for walks to think…Oh God, Logan. He doesn't know. He's gonna be worried sick when I don't come back. He's gonna think I just left or something. I wish I could somehow get a hold of him, just so he knows that I'm okay. Well, I'm not okay, but he doesn't need to know that. All he needs to know is that I'm okay and he doesn't have to worry about me. _

_          Logan, I know you can't hear me but maybe somehow you'll know I'm thinking about you. I can't thank you enough for everything you've done. I have only known you for less than a week and you have become so much more than a friend to me. I'll never forget you ever. You'll be in my heart for the rests of my life. No matter how short or long that turns out to be. I think Noah knew before I did about how much you mean to me. Noah liked you Logan, and he trusted you. He told me that he trusted you with my heart. He's never trusted anyone like that. I thought I was in love once, with this guy named Darren. Lets' just say it wasn't love and it ended badly. There's no way it could be when how I feel about you is so much more than….I don't know. Is it even possible to fall in love with a total stranger in a matter of 5 days? Especially, when I was dreading staying with a cocky, self absorbed rich boy. A rich boy you are but a far cry from the self absorbed ass I expected. You're the most compassionate and selfless man I have ever known. I haven't so safe with anyone since Noah. _

_My world caved in on itself tonight and you were right there with me and you didn't have to be, but you were there just the same. I swear it feels like all of my fears and worries and problems just disappear when I'm in your arms. Nothing can hurt me when I'm with you. I know it sounds stupid and I am probably crazy for thinking all of this and hoping you can hear me. To you I'm probably just some kid, but the again maybe I'm not. I wish that I could at least say goodbye to you. There are so many things I have to say, most of them I don't even know yet. _

_But, they're gonna kill me Logan. All because they screwed up and can't take responsibility for their actions. I'm going to die because of what I am, what they made me for, not what I turned out to be. They gave me this serum that's gonna make the DNA unravel faster. I hope it doesn't hurt too badly. I just wish I wasn't going to be alone tomorrow morning, this morning actually. So, I'll probably never see you again Logan. But please, know I'll never forget you._

_          *And if this should all end tomorrow , the way they want it to, all our best laid plans and all our typical fears….Am I running out of lifetimes? This isn't the first time something will end in tears. About tomorrow I can't imagine-how am I supposed to know how this will all go down?*  Jeeze, I'm not even making sense to myself anymore…_

Max sighed deeply looking down at her watch. "Well, only another seven hours left until d-day. What can I do with the rest of my life in a lovely 8x10 cell?" Max rose to her feel restless, 

          "I've got to get outta here." Max mumbled looking down at the lock on the cell door. "Yeah don't know how to pick this one. It's a little too complex for me." She said pacing back and forth down the length of the cell.

          "Argh!" she screamed kicking the cell door with all her might. 

_-_

"Did you hear that?" Logan asked Zack stopping momentarily to listen closer. "Max?!" 

_-_

          Max stopped dead in her tracks to listen closer. _What was that? Logan? No it can't be. Can it?  _

_-_

"Max!?" Logan called again, as they made their way down the abandoned corridor.

          "I thought you said that you'd be quiet." Zack snapped. "And we don't even know if she's down her. You could be drawing unnecessary attention to us."

          "She's down here. I can feel it." Logan stated. Zack rolled his eyes, holding back numerous comments on the tip of his tongue.

          "Okay, come on." Zack quickened his paced down the hallway.

_-_

          _That was definitely Logan. But how did he find me? _

          "Logan!" Max called running over to the bars, trying to see where he was.

          "She's over here!" Logan called back as he reached the bars that separated him from Max. "Max." He whispered taking her face in his hands through the bars.

          "Logan…How…" Max asked touching his shoulders to make sure he as real.

          "Move." A young man, a stranger to Max nudged Logan out of the way so he could crack the lock. The instant that it was broken Logan rushed into the cell as Max threw herself into his open arms.

          "Are you okay?" He asked pulling back to look at her face.

          "Yeah, I'm fine." Logan stroked her hair before pulling her into a hug.

          "You sure."

          "Yeah. I'm okay." Max told Logan with a small smile to reassure him. Nodding, Logan kissed her forehead happy that she was safe and with him once again.

          "Ummmm, I hate to break up this love-fest, but we really should get out of here while we have the chance." Zack broke in. Logan turned around suddenly remembering they weren't alone and stepped back to Max's side.

          "Logan?" Max said, her eyes questioning him as to who this man was with him. 

          "Yeah, uh, Max, this is your brother, Zack." Logan said cautiously, unsure of how she would react.   

          "Maxie?" Zack asked his voice softened greatly, actually  looking at the woman that was his sister for the first time.

          "Yeah, that's me. Uh, nice to meet you Zack." She replied nervously, extending her hand to him. The pain of Max not remembering him was apparent in Zack's eyes but he did his best not to let it show. A soldier never lets his emotions get in the way of the mission.

          "Well, we should get out of here." He said turning on his heal and walking out of the cell, bringing his bar-code into Max's view. Suddenly, hundreds of memories flooded back, flashing in Max's mind like a movie, and everything began to make sense,

          "Hey, you okay?" Logan asked concerned by the look on her face,

          "Yeah," Max said shaking her head to clear her head. "come on, I wanna get out of here." She said forcing a smile.

          "Okay."

          "But I need to do something first." Max added seeing the panel that hid her brother and sister from view.   

Well there you go part one….the *is part of a song by Over the Rhine…more or less…..I'll have the next part posted soon…..REVIEW!!!!….pathetic I know but review the pathetic girl…..lol


	8. Invincible

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 8: Invincible

PG-13ish

As always I don't own 'em in any way shape or form…so don't try and get any money from me cause you're not gonna find any. SO ha!

Ok, so maybe having this done by Christmas was a bit ambitious, but you never know. Ummm, I've been looking forward to writing this chapter almost since day one, but it was surprisingly hard for me to write. I hope that I did the movie in my head justice when I tried to put it on the page.  So if I don't  get the last chapter up by Christmas, "Merry Christmas!" and Happy Holidays to all of you. Thanks for sticking with me on this one. It's been a long haul but it's almost over. Thanks :P

_________________________________________________________________

            Max paused to look at the wall hiding her siblings, sighing sadly. _I promise you, they're not going to get away with this. I will put an end to it, tonight._

            "Zack?" Max asked trotting up next to him, gently squeezing Logan's hand before letting go.

            "Yeah?" He asked sounding somewhat preoccupied.

            "I know how much you just want to complete your mission and all, but I can't leave yet." Max told him flat out, making sure not to cut any corners with her CO. Now that she remembered her brother, telling him that she couldn't leave yet was easier in a way, but still terrifying. There had been so much time lost, and Max didn't know how much, if at all, he had changed.   

            "What?" Zack demanded stopping in mid-stride. "Of course you're leaving now."

            "No, I'm not Zack. You're free to go, but there is something I have to do. And I'm not leaving until it's done." Max looked Zack dead in the eye, not backing down. As Zack looked into the dark eyes of his sister, he noticed something that wasn't there a few minutes before. A greater wisdom, an understanding, a rekindled fire of controlled and specific anger. Slowly a small smile began to tug at the corners of his mouth. His Max was back.

            "What is it that you have to do?" he asked trying to sound impartial, but he would do whatever it was that she wanted right now out of pure joy. Max's eyes shifted back to Logan for a moment, bringing him to her side when she began to explain.

            "They're trying to kill us all Zack. Lydecker and Renfro." She began, "They have this serum that is specifically coded to unravel transgenic DNA. They'll take us out one by one, until there aren't any of us left. They've already prepped me for 'disposal' in the morning." Dropping her eyes to the ground Max walked over to the lever that had revealed her siblings earlier. 

"Zack, they already got Bryn, Ben, and Tinga." Max finished sadly, as she pulled the lever exposing the scene behind the wall. Zack stood in shock his eyes jumping from one face to another, as tears began to pool in his crystal blue eyes. 

"Why are they doing this?" Logan asked finally finding his voice. Hearing that Max had an execution date set, made his stomach churn.   

"Because taking responsibility for their actions would be too easy." Max said bitterly. "So they are just getting rid of us so they can start all over again. Zack I can't let them keep doing this. Not knowing what I do. All I'd have to do is get rid of their serum supply and the antigen and we'd be good to go."

"But they still have the blue prints to make more, Max. We'd have to take it out from the base." Zack said weakly.

"I don't know! But I have to do something. I can't just walk away from this. Not tonight especially. Don't ask me what I going to do, cause I'm just making it up as I go along. But I can't do nothing." Max argued feeling helpless. There was still so much that she didn't know and understand about her past and what she was. But she knew enough to know that she could actually do something about this mess that Manticore had created.

"Whatever you do, I'm with you." Logan said taking her hand in his.

"Look, it's real nice that you're willing to help out here, but this isn't your fight." Zack told him coldly.

"Zack's right Logan. You have nothing to do with this, so why should you risk getting hurt?" Max said turning to face Logan. "I don't want to risk losing you." She whispered so only he would hear.

"This is about you. These dirt-bags made you and now they want to kill because of some pathetic excuse like you're not 'perfect' enough?  Like hell that doesn't concern me.  Max. anyone who wants to hurt you, has to go through me first." Logan told her making sure not to break eye contact with her.

"But, if anything happened to you…"

"I'll be fine." He assured her with one of his prize winning smiles.

"No, I don't think so." Zack argued, seeing Max nod in agreement with Logan. He didn't need some outsider getting in the way. 

"Look, you may be my CO, but where the hell do you get off refusing the help of a willing volunteer? It's an extra set of eyes if nothing else. I personally think that it's a good idea, and if anything goes wrong I'll take the blame." Max said her demeanor changing in the blink of an eye.

"Fine." Zack sighed exasperated. "Let's just get this over with, shall we?" 

 "Let's go." Max said gently to Logan, as both fear and anxiety settled into her chest. _Get your head in the game Max. Come on. There's nothing to worry about. _Casually rolling her neck and shoulders to rid them of the kinks that had formed, Max and Zack passed through the door frame with sheer determination and confidence.  

Logan wasn't quite sure what he was going to do or where he fit in, in this whole plan, but he did know that he wasn't going to leave Max.  He couldn't leave her, not now. She meant far too much to him leave her now. 

The room was about twice the size of the one they had just left and the walls were lined with various tables and shelves. Veering to the right Max looked into the glass case containing different vials grouped together in holding trays. Each one had different bar-codes labeling the contents of each vial. _Me, Zack, Jondy… _Shaking her head in disappointment Max continued past the cabinet onto the table beside it that was covered with different vials and petrie dishes.    
  


*-*

            This bloody road remains a mystery

            A sudden darkness fills the air

            What are we waiting for?

            Won't anybody help us?

            What are we waiting for?

*-*

 "I found it." Max said turning to look at Zack, with a tray of the serum in hand, who was rifling through the files that were left scattered on the surrounding tables.  Pulling his attention from the file he was looking at, Zack looked up to see what Max had found.  Logan watched silently noticing the devious glint in Max's eye, as slowly the tray slipped from her nimble fingers crashing onto the floor.    
            "Ooops." Max said with a feigned look of innocence on her face.  Unable to hold back any longer, she broke into a smile shattering her mask of innocence.  Zack simply rolled his eyes at the pointless and childish act and retuned to the files.

            "Have you found anything that could be a master blue print of the serum? Or the antigen even?" Logan asked, approaching the files Zack had yet to look over.  

"No. I doubt that they would be careless enough to leave something so important out in the open like this though." Zack said tossing aside yet another file. Hearing another crash the two men turned around quickly to see Max brushing her hands with a satisfied look on her face as she stood beside a now bare table and a pile of broken glass, trays, and assorted syringe types, all of which contained the serum deadly to all transgenics.  Logan walked over to look at the mess Max had created, while an uninterested Zack dove back into the files,  something within them catching his eye.

"Ok, so maybe I have some anger issues." Max admitted through a grin, catching Logan's eye.  Unsure of what to say Logan kept his mouth shut and smiled at the vibrant woman before him. "There's only one thing left to smash." Max told Logan slipping past him with ease, to reach the glass cabinet where she carefully picked up the next generation of transgenics.  

*-*

            We can't afford to be innocent

            Stand up and face the enemy

            It's a do or die situation

            We will be invincible!

*-*

 "Argh! Maxie get outta here!" Zack growled in pain and anger as he fell to his knees and pulled the emptied syringe out of his neck.  Somehow Lydecker had managed to slip into the room without anyone noticing, and stranger still he kept his presence a secret until he plunged the syringe into the escaped X5's neck.

"Zack!" Max screamed taking a step towards her CO, but Logan grabbed her arm holding her back.

"Logan, get her out of here, NOW!" Zack commanded seeing Lydecker pull the gun from his belt. Nodding, Logan put his arm around Max's waist to guide her out of the building before it was too late. But, Max refused to move as her eyes locked onto Lydecker's.  

"I'd put that down if I were you." He said reminding max of the tray she held tightly in her grasp. "No one will get hurt if you just put that down." Lydecker said standing firm in statement.  As Max stared down the barrel of the gun in Lydecker's hand, she noticed something in his other hand-a syringe._ Oh God. This is it, Judgment Day._  Glancing over to Logan, Max's heart broke. He looked absolutely terrified, not for himself but for her. His eyes were franticly flying from Max to the gun and back to Max. He was once again helpless to save her. 

*-*

            This shattered dream you cannot justify.

            We're gonna scream until we're satisfied

            What are we running for?

            We've got the right to be angry!

            What are we running for?

            When there's no where we can run to anymore.

*-*

"You sing my CO's death certificate and  you want me to cooperate? You kill my family and my best friend and you want me to cooperate? You took the chance of a fairly normal life and ripped it out of my hands, shattered into a million tiny pieces and you and you want me to cooperate?" Max asked him. 

            "Why?" Max demanded through her teeth, pushing back tears.

            "Your will needed to be broken." He stated simply. "You were always one of the strongest Max. In order for us to get you to do anything as a child we needed to bring you to the breaking  point before you'd follow orders. It was assumed that your will would only get stronger with age and it needed to be broken." Lydecker told her. Catching Zack's slight movement from the corner of his eye, he threw a kick, landing it in the X5's stomach to keep him down.   

"You pushed me beyond the 'breaking point' a long time ago, which is probably why I can't remember my so called childhood. But a person can only take so much, and killing everyone I loved…. I thought that you would have learned something from the escape back in '09. When you kill one of our own, we get pissed. And when we're pissed, we're dangerous to anyone and everyone who can be defined as the enemy or unknown. And I hate to tell you this, but have been the enemy since day one, and your past has come back to bite you in the ass." Max said, her voice getting dangerously cold as she spoke. 

*-*

            We can't afford to be innocent

            Stand up and face the enemy

            It's a do or die situation

            We will be invincible!

            And with the power of conviction

            There is no sacrifice

            It's a do or die situation

            We will be invincible!

*-*

"Deck you're never gonna believe this!" Renfro said rushing into the room waving a file in the air, stopping short seeing the scene unfolding.  "Deck what are you doing? Put the gun down." She told him nervously. "Lydecker, that's an order!"

            While Lydecker was partiality side-tracked Max and Zack worked out a makeshift plan without a word spoken. Nodding slightly, Max turned to Logan unsure of what to tell him.  'Stay back and keep your head down.' She mouthed to him. His fear filled eyes questioned her on what was happening but Logan nodded signaling that he understood his orders, as she slowly guided him behind her with her free hand. Smiling softly, Max turned her attention back to Lydecker her face instantly hardening at the sight of him.   

*-*

            Won't anybody help us?

            What are we running for?

            When there's nowhere…nowhere we can run to anymore.

*-*

            "Hey Deck, kiss you future 'kids' goodbye." Max spat getting Lydecker's full attention once again so he could watch the tray full of new and improved transgenic DNA fall to the floor, adding to the large pile Max had already created.

            "No!" He screamed, signaling Zack to make his move. Zack dove towards Lydecker taking the man down once and for all just after he pulled the trigger, releasing a bullet towards for Max.  Dropping the file in her hand Renfro set into a dead heat for Max, throwing her down into the broken glass on the floor, taking the bullet in the chest.  Logan sensing the chaos had come to an end moved from around the corner of the cabinet and ran directly to Max.

            "You screwed with the wrong family." Zack muttered when he discarded Lydecker's limp body and slowly rose to his feet.  

            Carefully pushing herself up, Max noticed a sharp, uncomfortable pain in her ribs. _Damn….did I break one or something?_  Max looked down to see if there was a piece of glass lodged in her skin and found something far worse.  _Oh God._ Closing her eyes, Max pulled the syringe from in between two of her ribs, quickly dropping into the mess of lab supplies beneath her. 

            "Max? Max, are you okay?" Logan asked helping her up.

            "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks to her." Max jutting her head towards Renfro. "Why the hell did she do that? She was more screwed up than Lydecker." Max pulled her eyes from the body on the ground to look Logan in the eye.

            "I don't know. I'd bet the answer to that is in that file of hers though." Smoothing back Max hair Logan smiled. "You sure you're okay?" he asked noticing her completion more pale than it had been a few minutes ago. _She did just almost die. That's enough to drain the blood from anyone's face._

            "Yeah. I'm okay." Max smiled as she burned Logan's eyes into her memory.

            "Zack!" Max called suddenly remembering what had happened to him. "You need the antigen. Umm….there's only one vial, in the fridge, in the other room. You've gotta get that in your blood steam as soon as possible." Zack nodded and went in search of the antigen.  A sad smile formed on Max's lips as she watched Zack walk away. _It's the right thing to do._

            "He'll be okay." Logan consoled. 

            "I know he will. He has to be. Too many people need him." Max muttered more to herself than to Logan.  Out of no where the room began to spin and Max lost her balance, forcing her to grab onto Logan for support.

            "Whoa! I got you. I've got you." Logan said as Max collapsed against his chest. "Max, are you alright? You wanna sit down?" He suggested, his concern growing rapidly.

            "Yeah. Sitting would be good." She breathed as Logan lowered her to the ground.  Closing her eyes Max curled up in Logan's arms. _I'm so tired._

            "Max, what's going on? What's wrong? And don't tell me you're fine, because you're obviously not." Logan demanded. Shifting to see his face, Max couldn't seem to find the words. How could she tell him that she was dying and Zack had the only vial of the antigen that could save her?

            "Max?" Logan said looking deep into her dark brown eyes as his worst fear became a reality. "No. Please no." he begged tightening his grip on her. "Max, I can't lose you. Not now. I just found you." Tears instantly sprung to his eyes now that he was facing the reality of losing Max. 

            "I'm sorry." Max whispered her own tears over flowing. "Oh, God, don't cry. That's my job." Max said trying to lighten the dark mood. 

            "It's not your fault Max." Logan gently brushed  the hair away from her face. There was so much that each of them had to say, but didn't know how to say it. And they were running out of time. 

            But, somehow their hearts managed to reach one another and everything that needed to be said was written in their eyes, conveying messages that could never make it pass their lips before they talked themselves out of it. There was no room for questions or disbelief between them. Their hearts would not lie and they both knew it.

            "There is no where else I'd rather be right now." Max whispered. "There is no other way I want to die than looking into your eyes." Max lightly stroked Logan's soft stubble with the back of her hand with a slight smile. "I'm gonna miss this. You holding me in your arms. I've never felt so safe. It's like all the fears, and problems in the world vanish when I'm with you. I'm going to miss you."

            "Shhh. Don't talk like that. You're going to be okay." Logan said holding back a sob.  "We have plenty of time to sit like this. We have all the time in the world."

            "Logan," Max said her whisper getting fainter with each passing moment. Not wanting to hear a goodbye of any kind, Logan gently kissed Max. Praying that it was all a bad dream, and that when he opened his eyes again Max would be okay.

            "Don't leave me Max. Please. I don't want to go through life if you're not there. Max please." He cried, desperate to keep her with him.

            "I don't have much of choice." Max told him wiping away a tear from his cheek, as she fought for consciousness. "I love you." She whispered as her hand fell away from his face and everything faded to black.

            "No. Max, stay with me! Stay with me!" Logan begged, as sobs wracked his body. "I love you…you can't leave me."

            "Max, I couldn't find any syringes in there-" Zack said walking back into the room. 

"Max!" Immediately running to Max's side and dropping to his knees he looked down at his sister, then to Logan locking eyes with the man who loved his sister, the decision already made.

My, my, my, what have I done? If you were anything like a friend of mine-you know who you are-couKATgh-screaming at the screen won't change my mind about what I'm gonna do or how the chapter ended, but it does make me smile. :D  Ummm, the song is 'Invincible' by Pat Benatar…great song if you've never heard it and very fitting for Dark Angel in general. Another sing that I was going to put in but decided against it was 'Wherever you will go' by The Calling.  The only reason that I put in the first is because of the title of the chapter…otherwise it would have been The Calling hands down. SO if you have the song in any form, play it during the last section between Max and Logan…cause it was playing in my head while I came up with it all. Well I rambled on for long enough….please remember to review  to let me know what you think or email me if it's easier  luvvbug101@hotmail.com   thanks a million and go read Elevator Music cause it's awesome!!!!! 


	9. Aftermath

Shadows of the Past

Chapter 9: Aftermath

~PG-13ish

~Again for the millionth time I don't own 'em! So stop bugging me!

Well, here it is, the conclusion of Shadows. It's been fun, and I hope that you all have enjoyed it. I have a couple of ideas for a few short stories so I won't be gone all that long.  Kat, I have you to thank for keeping me going with this story on more than one occasion. You're the best! How many people would let me bounce ideas off of them at 1 in the morning~ granted it was only 10 or so for you but still, you're the best.  

Well, I guess I'll shut up now so you can read the final chapter of Shadows of the Past.  
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

        It had been a long, agonizing, and heart wrenching two weeks in the Fogel Towers penthouse. Logan had never felt as helpless as he did that day two weeks ago, as he watched Max slip out of his life forever. 

*-*

        "What happened?" Zack asked reaching his hand out to feel for a pulse.

        "I'm not sure….I think that somehow….Max was injected with the serum. She just collapsed…I begged her not to go…but she…she…" Logan tried to explain through his tears. 

        "Oh, Maxie. I'm sorry I let this happen." Zack whispered, gently stroking the side of her face. "We still have some time. She's got a pulse, it's faint but it's there." Zack quickly rose to retrieve a syringe from the pile that Max had created minutes before.   
        "What are you doing?" Logan asked, watching Zack pull the antigen from his coat and extract it from the vial with the syringe. 

        "Saving her life." Zack expertly cleared all air bubbles, and found and a large vein, and injected the antigen into Max's blood-stream. Logan watched intently until the actual injection. He hated needles, and there was no way that he could possibly watch Max being stuck, even if it was saving her life.    

        "What about you?" Logan asked in shock that Zack had just given up his only chance at life.

        "What about me?" he responded refusing to look Logan in the eye, worried he would see the fear in them. Logan just looked at the man before him unsure of what to say and pulled Max a bit closer to him.

        "Look, Logan I know what you're getting at." Zack said breaking into the uncomfortable silence. "And, yeah, I'm gonna die soon." He admitted looking at his sister. "But it was my job to protect Max, I was supposed to make sure that nothing happened to her, and I failed. I failed my mission I failed her. I did what I had to do. I'm making sure that she'll be alright." 

        Slowly Zack leaned over to kiss Max's forehead. "I love you Maxie." He whispered so quietly, he wasn't sure it was even out loud. "Take care of her for me Logan." Zack said standing up, his legs a bit shaky as the serum began to take its toll on the strong leader.   
        "You know I will. Where are you going?" Logan asked wanting to do something, but not wanting to let go of Max.

        "To think…clear my head…make my peace with…with…God?" Zack offered, unsure of exactly what he was going to do. Gently, Logan lay Max on the cool ground.

        "Thank you." Logan said hugging Zack cautiously. "For everything. If it wasn't for you I never would have found Max again, and I'd have lost her forever. I wish I could do something to repay you." Logan said looking at Zack, who was in shock from the sudden embrace.

        "Just take care of her. That's thanks enough. And like I said I was just doing my job." Zack dismissed Logan's gratitude. With a slight wave, he turned on his heel and was gone, never to be seen again. Smiling sadly Logan turned around and picked Max up carrying her to his car.

*-*

        Since he had gotten Max back to his apartment, he hadn't left her side except to use the bathroom and take an occasional two minute shower. The last thing Logan wanted was for Max to wake up and for her to be alone. There had been a few minor 'issues' that Logan had faced when it came to getting Max in bed.  He assumed that jeans probably wouldn't be the most comfortable thing in the world to sleep in. But how was he going to get her out of her clothes and into pajamas without getting his ass kicked, if Max asked how she had gotten changed, once she woke up? He could call Bling, but that wouldn't be any better from Max's point of view. Finally, Logan decided that he would call his neighbor-of sorts- Mrs. Moreno. She was a kind older woman who wouldn't ask many questions. Plus she had always taken a motherly role with him; so how bad could it be for Max to hear that she had changed her? Then there was the fact that Logan would have to go through Max's stuff. Fortunately, that one he wasn't too worried about, especially since her sleep-ware was found right on top of the pile. 

        After all of that Logan tucked Max in underneath his satin sheets and thick goose down comforter.  Carefully, Logan took her hands from under the blankets so he could hold them as he waited for to awaken. Pulling up a chair to the side of the bed Logan made himself comfortable. 

        Each day it was the same routine; Logan would go from sitting in the chair, to the edge of the bed, wiping Max's damp forehead with a cool cloth, to standing by the window trying to clear his head of all the horrid possibilities of Max never waking up, to pacing back and forth at the foot of the bed, and finally back to the chair where he'd fall asleep to start the cycle over again the next day. There were times that Logan would actually have to check to see if Max was still breathing, and every time he found that she was. 

As the end of the second week rolled around Logan was nearing the breaking point; fear, exhaustion, and helplessness getting the better of him.

"Max, I don't know if you can hear me or not, studies say that coma patients can hear their loved ones, but anyway…" Logan began one of her small pale hands between his own. "Angel you've got to wake up. I haven't been able to get any food in you. Bling's come over and given you some shots with the necessary vitamins and nutrients in it but…" Logan sighed and rested his head on their hands. "I just want to know that you're ok. When you're sleeping like this I can't tell what's  going on in your body. If you're ok or not, if you need anything. Max please, just wake up. Open your eyes. Please." Logan lay his head down gently on Max's abdomen, still holding her hand, only now his fingers were laced through hers. "I don't know what to do Max." he whispered as his tears began to fall soaking the comforter.

*-*

        _Oh my God, did I get hit by a truck or something? I feel like hell. _

        Max slowly opened her eyes, unsure of where exactly she was, or why she was even there.  Looking down to see what the weight was on her abdomen, Max smiled softly. _Logan_. Gently, she reached out her free hand to brush back his long spiky hair. He looks so tired. Feeling the  touch Logan slowly sat up thinking that it was just another dream and that Max wasn't really awake, Logan turned his head. Surprisingly, his piercing blue eyes met her warm brown.  
        "Max?" he asked in disbelief.

        "Hey." Max whispered hoarsely, her throat dry and scratchy from the lack of use. Logan leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Max's small frame, soon feeling her arms wrapping around him.  Moments later, Logan regretfully pulled back to look at Max, with soft smile.

        "Do you think you can sit up?" he asked, thinking that the movement would be good for her stiff muscles. When she nodded, Logan gently helped Max move to a sitting position, arranging pillows behind her  back to lean on.  

        "Water?" Max whispered, tired of feeling her throat sticking to itself. Logan held up a finger telling her to wait a minute as he got up to get a glass.  He's so cute sometimes. Max adjusted the pillows slightly so she would have to sit up more. Her muscles were so stiff. I wonder how long I was sleeping? It couldn't have been too long, could it? 

        "Here you go." Logan said handing her glass of cool clear water.

        "Thanks." She told him after taking a long drink, savoring the feel of the liquid in dry mouth and throat. 

        "How you feeling?" Logan asked putting the glass on the night stand, concern etched on his face.

        "Like I've been hit by a truck." Max quipped with a smile. "Honestly?" she asked getting a nod in reply, "I've felt better – Don't think I've felt worse, but I'm sure I could. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry." Max assured Logan, patting the bed with her hand, inviting him to sit down next her.

        "I'll always worry Max." 

        "Umm, Logan?" she ventured, her eyes falling to the comforter where she played with a lose string. Oh just ask him. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea or anything but…umm…" Max let out a sigh in frustration.  "Logan, where's Zack? 'Cause, quite frankly, I shouldn't be here - I shouldn't be alive. What happened?" Logan sighed, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.  

        "Max," he began, "I'm not sure how to say this."

        "Well it's obviously not good news, so just say it Logan."

        "Zack walked in just after you passed out. Max, he gave you the antigen. After that I honestly don't know where he went." Logan told her, watching her carefully as the realization settled into her features. Max nodded slowly with tears forming in her eyes and a bitter smile forming on her lips. 

        "He died for me. Even though he knew that the others depended on him. I didn't say anything about me getting stuck with that stupid needle for a reason. I knew Zack would refuse taking the antigen if he knew that I needed it too. But the others, Jondy, Syl, Krit…they all need Zack so much more than they need me. Zack was our protector, now what are they – we going to do? It should have been me." 

        "Don't say that. Neither one of you should have died. And maybe Zack thought that since Lydecker and Renfro are both dead you wouldn't have to hide anymore? Or maybe he couldn't watch his little sister die knowing that he could save her? Max, he didn't think twice about it." Logan said, holding her face in his hands.

        "Zack is one more person who's dead because of me, Logan." Tears spilled down onto Max's cheek, as she looked into Logan's eyes.

        "Not because of you. No one is dead because of you. Max, you never pulled a trigger, or set off a bomb, or gave an injection. None of this is your fault you have to believe that. Take it from someone who knows what misplaced guilt feels like." Logan ran his hands through his hair, surprised that he was actually going to talk about his mother. He had never told anyone. "When I was 17 my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She went through the proper chemotherapy treatments and radiation, she was released from the hospital a few months later and we thought everything was fine. She was weak but on the mend…or so we thought.  I was watching some stupid 'movie of the week' with her on TV when she had a stroke…I didn't even notice." He laughed bitterly to himself. "I looked over to make some immature comment about the movie and noticed that something was wrong, really wrong. I called for my father as I tried to get my mom to say something, anything. She ended up going back to the hospital and never coming back out alive."

        "There was nothing you could have done about that Logan." Max insisted. She had no idea that he had been through that as a child.

        "I know, but for years I blamed myself for my mother's death. If I had been there when she needed me most, she never would have had the extensive damage that she did from the stroke. Sometimes I still do actually. But I know that she would have had the stroke whether or not I had noticed immediately, and she probably would have died because of the complication from the stroke. Trust me Max, blaming yourself or something you had no control over isn't worth the effort. You in no way caused anyone's death. Please Max, believe me on this one."  

        "Hmmm." Max looked out the window thoughtfully. "Maybe, you're right. MAYBE." Max clarified looking back to Logan with a smile. 

        "Okay, I'll take what I can get." he laughed. "I'm glad you're here Max – in every sense of the word.

        "Me too." She whispered, just before Logan placed a soft, quick kiss on her lips. Logan pushed himself farther up onto the bed so he was leaning on the pile of pillows in front of the head board next to Max, who leaned into his arms as if it was the most natural thing for her to do. Logan sighed contently, as his exhaustion caught up with him, and kissed the top of Max's head.

        "Logan, I meant what I said back at the lab. You don't have to say anything, I know I'm probably just some kid to you with fling potential, and I understand. But I thought you should know that I didn't just say that I loved you because I thought I was dying, I meant it. And don't worry I'll be packed and out of here by tomorrow night." Max confessed, unable to look him in the eye.

        "Max, how could you think that all you are to me is a fling? When you were dying in my arms I thought that I was going to die with you. The thought of life without you in it terrifies me. I told you back at the lab but you must not have heard me. Max, I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life." 

        "Really?" Max asked propping herself up on her elbow to look at Logan for any trace of dishonesty. 

        "Yeah, really." Logan smiled. Max's face broke into a huge smile as she kissed Logan. "Does this mean that you're not packing up and leaving tomorrow?" Logan laughed as Max snuggled back down into the blankets.

        "Maybe." She giggled, resting her head under Logan's chin. "I'm soooo tired." She mumbled.

        "Me too." Logan admitted through a yawn. "But promise me you won't sleep for another two weeks."

        "Sure. Wait – what? I was asleep for two weeks?" Max asked shocked.

        "Yeah, you were. Don't' ever do that to me again." Logan demanded, pulling Max closer to him.

        "Hey Logan?" Max asked sleepily.

        "Hmm?" 

        "Did you ever think that all this would happen when you got a letter from a very confused and scared girl named Maxine Guevara?" 

        "Never in my wildest dreams could I have come up with the past few weeks." Logan told her groggily.

        "Uhm."

        "But I wouldn't trade them for anything." Logan added looking down at the angel in his arms. 

        "Good answer." she yawned, "I love you Logan." Max said drifting off into sleep.

        "I love you too Angel." Logan told her as she laced her fingers through his. "I love you too."

Well guys there you go! "Shadows of the Past" is now COMPLETE!!! Whew – I never thought I'd get here for a while. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed – you guys are the best. Kat, I love you – and you know it!    
  
Please let me know what you thought of Shadows…I'm actually quite interested in your opinions….feel special cause I have been know to say "You have the right to your wrong opinion." But I don't feel that way with this. I honestly want to know what you think….and since my ESP abilities are strictly limited to those in the same room as me, I can't read your minds – meaning tell me! – lol  I'm always excited to hear from readers so feel free to email me if you want. Toodles! 

Luvvbug101@hotmail.com  

PS~ Merry Christmas people…..I finished in time just for you! :oD 


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